Parents Sitting
by Paradise-san786
Summary: Albus unknowingly uses a prototype potion to prank his brother James, but Harry and Ginny end up drinking it instead. Now it's up to James, Albus and Lily to take care of their 6 and 5 years old parents until the potion wears off. Along the way they find out some pretty interesting facts about their Dad and Mum, see how they'll deal with it. HP/GW R
1. Pumpkin Juice

**Hi, thanks for clicking on my second Harry Potter story **_**(smiles)**_** I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I'm going to enjoy writing it.**

**WARNING:**** Story will contain mention of abuse from the Dursleys as the Potter kids discover more and more about their parents as the chapters progress. Nothing graphic and I will put a warning up for chapters mentioning abuse, but please do not read if you don't feel comfortable about it.**

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of Harry Potter, that's ALL J.K Rowling.**

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Albus glared at his older brother from across the living room.

James sighed, practically feeling the heated glare from his little brother. He lowered the book he was reading –Quidditch through the Ages – and looked at Albus.

"How long are you going to keep staring at me?" he asked lazily.

Albus glare only intensified and he said nothing. James sighed again and brought his book back up to read and partly to shield himself from the glare.

He thought his brother would have gotten over the prank by now. It was their first week back home from Hogwarts for the summer holiday and Albus had so far spent them glaring and not speaking to him. It's not the first time they hadn't spoken to each other after a fight or prank war, but it tends to get a little boring and lonely without his brother talking to him. Not that he'll say that out loud, but he usually regrets upsetting his little brother.

Still maybe he shouldn't have stuffed exploding confetti into Al's pant pockets. But he couldn't help but find it funny when his pants exploded and about a dozen of colourful confetti exploded all around the Great Hall. Some swizzing around spelling 'Have a Good Holiday' on top of the teacher table. Albus had tried fruitlessly to conceal himself when his pants hanged on him in tatters where he sat.

His little brother had declared revenge on James, but that was nearly five days ago and he had yet to see Al's wrath. But James was sure he'll cool down soon and then he'll apologise. He had already apologised to Albus, but his brother wouldn't hear of it, refusing to talk or listen to him. James also had a talk with his father when they all got home and the story was out.

His dad always has a way of making him feel guilty about any pranks he pulls on his siblings and makes comments that left him thinking about it for hours. He truly regretted the prank and hoped his brother would get over it soon.

Albus sighed and frowned at his older brother. The prank was completely cruel, he knew his brother liked a laugh but this was going too far. He knew James always liked to do something flashy before leaving school each year, but he didn't find humiliating his own brother in front of everyone in the Great Hall at all a good prank. He had a hell of a time getting out of the Great Hall with help from his best friends Scorpius and cousin Rose without anybody else noticing.

He was just glad everyone was preoccupied with the colourful confetti zooming and spreading all around the Great Hall to notice where it actually came from and the predicament it left him in. It was only when he got out of the hall did the rest of his cousins and family come out and helped him as well, but not without their own laughing and teasing.

It was so embarrassing, but he already had means to get back at his brother. A trip to their Uncle George's joke shop had been really beneficial to him. He had found a box of small purple vials labelled 'New Prank Supplies' and he had looked at the small description on the bottle. It was perfect for James, if he wants to act like a child then fine he'll _be like_ a child.

The bottle was currently in his pocket. All he had to do is put it in a drink and watch James act like a child for a whole day. He'll definitely make a fool out of himself and that'll teach him to stop making him his pranking victim.

"Where are mum and dad?" asked James bringing Albus out of his thoughts.

Albus only glared at him and shrugged. He knew where they were, but he wasn't going to tell.

Their parents were outside in the back garden that he knew. The weather is really sunny today and their mother had suggested on having a picnic outside to start of their summer. Their father had agreed and now both of them were preparing everything outside.

James sighed again and got up, "you're really annoying some times. Did you know that Al?" he said as he got up and made his way to the foyer.

Albus just stuck his tongue out at him and James chuckled lightly before a slight frown appeared on his lips, "I am sorry for the prank Al. I don't know how many times I'm going to say it before you're satisfied, but hurry it up little brother."

Albus looked at him for a second before turning his face the other way. James rolled his eyes and smiled at his brother. He knew Albus didn't like to hold grudges and James was still waiting for the prank Al would pull on him to come. He'd just wish he'd do it already so they can go back to talking. Shaking his head he entered the foyer and made his way up the stairs.

Their sister Lily was upstairs in her bedroom. Probably still unpacking as all three Potter siblings had the same habit of leaving all their packing and unpacking for later. Their mother always made sure they got it all done within the first week back or going.

Albus waited for a few minutes to make sure no one else came in before he got up and made his way to the kitchen on the other side of the room. Everyone was busy now so this was the best time to get the potion ready.

He looked out the kitchen window to see his parents setting up the blanket and getting everything ready, while talking animatedly about something, judging by the way they were gesturing with their arms.

Nodding to himself, he quickly turned around and went over to the fridge. They were always well stocked of everything, something that their parents always made sure of seeing as they usually had a lot of mouths to feed including their relatives and friends that like to come over. He reaching in and took out a bottle of pumpkin juice. He closed the fridge and placed the bottle on the counter.

Reaching into his pocket he took out the small vial and looked at the purple liquid within it. Should he really do this? He played pranks before, but he never singled anyone out before. Sure he pranked his big brother before, but that was usually with Fred or Louis and he never did it by himself. He always had Lily or Rose or even Scorpius with him.

Maybe he was overreacting said his rational side. James had apologised and he knew that his brother could never help but play a prank and it wasn't like he got hurt or anything. Maybe he was just blowing this out of proportion, but the image of all his cousins and friends laughing at him as his tattered pants kept slipping off, the humiliation of being so violently exposed ran through his mind.

Albus anger surfaced again and a frown graced his face as he continued to think about it, all the reason why he _should_ do this override his rational side and now all he wanted was to get back at his brother.

"_I'm definitely doing this. James needs to know that I can dish out just as much as he can."_

With that strong thought in mind, Albus grabbed a glass, poured the pumpkin juice into the glass and opened the small vial. He looked at it for a second before shutting every sensible thought out of his mind and poured the purple liquid into the juice.

The pumpkin juice flashes a bright purple colour before turning back to normal. Albus ran a hand through his pitch black hair, staring at the drink to make sure nothing else happens to it before smiling and pocketing the small vial. He placed the pumpkin juice bottle back into the fridge and carefully placed the glass on the table, making sure not to spill a drop.

Okay now all he has to do is get James downstairs without looking suspicious. But how? He couldn't just start talking to his brother after giving him the silent treatment since they've come back home. So how was he going to do this?

Maybe when they were all outside? It is pretty hot out today as he looked out the window to see the sun shining brightly with a few clouds lazily drifting around. James will eventually feel thirsty and that's when he'll have the juice ready for him.

Albus started to concoct a plan when his sister's scream suddenly ripped through the house, making him jump. "ALBUS! JAMES IS GOING THROUGH YOUR TRUNK AGAIN."

Albus grimaced and tore through the kitchen, living room and into the foyer. He stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up.

"JAMES GET OUT OF MY ROOM," he yelled. He heard shuffling upstairs and his sister scowling voice.

"I'M NOT IN YOUR ROOM AL," he heard James yell back.

"HE'S GOT THE INVISIBILITY CLOAK," yelled Lily.

"WHAT!" exclaimed Albus angrily, "JAMES, DAD SAID IT WAS MINE NOW." And with that he ran up the stairs to his brother and sister.

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At that moment Harry and Ginny were both heading back to the house after they finished setting up the picnic outside.

"… What do you think?" asked Ginny as Harry opened the kitchen door, letting Ginny come in first before coming in himself.

"I don't know Gin. It does sound like a good idea, but we haven't spent any time together as a family and I don't want to intrude on anyone's holiday plans."

Ginny smiles at her husband as they took turns to wash their hands, "we won't be intruding Harry. You know George, the more the merrier he'll say."

Harry smiled knowingly, "I know, but it's been a while since we've spent time as a family," he saw Ginny open her mouth to say something and he knew exactly what she was going to say and quickly continued, "I know spending time with everyone is family time." His wife grinned and rolled her eyes and he smirked, he was right, "but it's been a long time since it's just been you, me and our kids. Is it wrong of me to spend quality time with my own family?"

Ginny shook her head, "there is nothing wrong with that Harry. I understand. We've spent Christmas at the Burrow or one of the kids wanted to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. This is the first summer holiday were we haven't planned to do anything yet. So I can understand you want to take this opportunity to spend time together, just us."

Harry dried his hands and moved to sit on the chair at the table. He smiles at her, she always knew what he meant and felt without even saying it and that was one of the many things about her he loved. She was right thought, they hadn't made any plans, and all the Weasleys had but not the Potters.

They really didn't have time to even sit down and think about preparing for the holidays. Harry had been busy at the Auror department on a serious case which just ended recently to even think about making any plans. Ginny was swamped with the Quidditch tournaments, interviewing players and the article she needed to finish to consider what her family was planning and what she could.

James, Albus and Lily already knew what all their cousins and friends were going to do for the summer holiday. It was evident enough by their cousins exciting chatter that they were definitely going to do something fun. So the Potter children –much like their father– didn't feel it right to intrude and just left it for their parents to decided.

Harry knew this was the best opportunity. All the Weasleys were busy, so there was no chance of the kids wanting to sleep over or spend the week at their cousins or friends house. Plus he and Ginny were up for their annual leave in a weeks' time so it was all the more better.

Most of the Weasleys had already left for their holidays, Arthur and Molly had gone to Romania to visit Charlie who couldn't get any time off as there was an arrival of new dragons coming to the reserve, so the Tamers had to prepare. Bill, Fleur, Victoire, Dominique and Louis had gone to spend their holiday in Paris with the Delacour family. Percy, Audrey, Molly and Lucy had gone to Spain. Even Ron and Hermione informed them a week ago that they'll be taking Rose and Hugo on a trip to Switzerland with the Grangers. The only ones left were the Potter family and George, Angelina, Fred and Roxanne in England. George and Angelina had volunteered to look after the Burrow to stop Molly worrying too much and Fred and Roxanne didn't mind as they loved the Burrow and had the Quidditch pitch to themselves for once.

Harry smiled at Ginny, "you always know what to say," he was rewarded by a beautiful smile. He had to resist the urge to get up and just take her. Even at the age of thirty nine –soon to be forty– Ginny still had her bright fiery red hair; her warm brown eyes sparkled every time he gazed into them and he still couldn't get enough of her. "So are you sure you don't want to go anywhere Gin?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, this was one of his traits she both loved and hated. It didn't really matter what he wanted, not if the people he loved wanted something else. Their needs always came first before his. She would always try to convince him that what he wanted and needed was just as important, but he would only smile at her and kiss her gently before saying that all he wanted he already had and all he needed was her and their children. She had no one but the Dursleys to blame for his mind-set, as much as her husband told her about his life before Hogwarts, she'd come to understand that they never really provided or cared for him as they should have, shunning him, taking no interest in him and leaving him out of everything. It was no wonder he never thought much about himself and yet she knew he wasn't telling her everything.

"No Harry, like you I'll like nothing more than to spend the holiday with my husband and our children," she said as she walked up behind him and circled her arms around his neck. He was still incredible handsome and humble, she couldn't help but want to be near him all the time, touching him, kissing him, giving him all the love and care he always deserved. His pitch black hair, still untidy and unruly always called for her to run her hand through and she loved looking into his beautiful green eyes. She loved him and always made sure to tell him every time.

Harry leaned into her embrace and sighed, "Thanks Gin."

She smiled tenderly down at him and gave him a peck on his cheek. She started to run her fingers over his chest and nuzzled her cheek against his, "no problem love. We Potters have to stick together after all," she whispered in a breathy tone right into his ear. He shivered pleasantly and closed his eyes as he relaxed into her hold.

He opened his eyes and gazed up at her with his bright emerald green eyes, his black tresses falling into them. She always felt a pleasured chill run through her whenever he looked at her like that and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him deeply.

Harry smiled at her, feeling the exact same as her at the moment, "speaking of Potters sticking together, is Al still giving James the silent treatment?"

Ginny sighed, "Yes as far as I know Al is still not speaking to James."

They both remembered when they went to pick up their children from the train station a week ago, as excited as they were to see them; they became slightly wary when their two sons were not talking to each other, even though both of them were happy to see their parents, greeting them with hugs and kisses. James and Al weren't even looking or speaking to each other.

Harry and Ginny knew from right there that something had happened between the brothers and gave them confused and concerned looks. Their daughter Lily was the only one not affected by her brothers attitude, greeting her parents with joy and speaking to her brothers like they were a couple of idiotic two year olds with a amused grin on her face.

When they were half way to Potter Manor –Harry had decided to take the car– Harry finally asked what was going on and that's when Albus exploded. He pointed accusingly at his older brother and explained everything that happened.

James had tried to defend himself but was shot down continuously by his young brother and occasionally his little sister. Ginny had reprimanded their eldest and tried to calm their second child. But Albus wouldn't listen, he felt completely humiliated in front of his family and friends.

When they finally got home, Harry had a talk with James, hearing his side of the story too and found that it matched to Albus story. Harry had sighed and told him he didn't expect that from him and he needed to apologise to his brother. James held his head low with shame after seeing the disappointment in his father's eyes and explained to Harry that he did apologise to Albus, but he wasn't having it and that he really was sorry. Harry had smiled reassuringly at his son and told him to let Al cool down, give him some time and he'll come around.

Harry had even talked with Albus after dinner. Sitting patiently on his son's bed while he watched the young boy rant and rave about having a mean brother who liked nothing more than to humiliate and make fun of his own brother, as he paced up and down his room.

Harry had shaken his head and smiled at him and reminded his son that James never meant to really hurt him and just liked a laugh. But Albus didn't care saying James had crossed the line too many times and he'd definitely get him back. Harry had frowned slightly and had told Albus that revenge or payback was never the right thing to do. He encouraged Albus to forgive his brother and let it go. He had left leaving Albus sitting on his bed, arm crossed with a sour look on his face.

As the week continued all three of their children were happy to be back home. They lounged about in the living room, the garden, their bedrooms, helping out with the chores, playing chess and arguing with each other, but James and Albus never partook in any activity together, not even a game of Quidditch offered by Harry made them forgot about their argument. No it was always Lily and James or Lily and Albus, but it was never Albus and James. They even noticed Lily getting fed-up with their attitudes and tried pointlessly to get Al to talk to James. But no luck, Al was too stubborn, a trait that all the family shared unfortunately.

Harry and Ginny knew their sons would patch things up soon; both brothers never could stay mad at each other for too long. But still they hoped they'll start talking again soon. They never liked it when their children fought or argued with each other. Ginny had even talked to Albus, but she knew all too well what Al was going through. Being in the same spot as her son in the past many time before, she could understand how Al was feeling, so she didn't have any room to talk or convince her son to let bygones be bygones.

"Hopefully they'll patch thing up soon," said Ginny reassuringly, "they always do."

Harry nodded, "at least James is trying."

Ginny smiled, giving him one last peck before releasing him, "well we are all set up in the back garden. I'll call the kids down."

"Okay," Harry got up as Ginny left the kitchen. He was about to get himself something to drink before he noticed the glass of pumpkin juice just sitting on the table.

"_How'd I miss that?"_ he thought with a raised eyebrow and picked up the glass. _"One of the kids must have left it."_ They did do that often and mostly to annoy each other. He smiled amusingly as he thought of his children fondly and decided to have the drink instead of getting more out. There was no point in wasting it and he was sure they had plenty more of the juice stocked in the fridge.

Harry leaned against the counter and drank half of the juice before holding the glass and licking his lips. The pumpkin juice was still nice and cold and he savoured the taste in his mouth. He faintly thought it tasted slightly tangy, but before he could think any more about it, his wife came back into the kitchen. He smiled at her as she walked over to him.

"They'll be down in a minute. They're still going though their packing," Ginny chuckled.

Harry's smile turned into a grin, "you mean they were arguing over something."

Ginny grinned and stood next to him, leaning against the counter, "you know what I mean."

Harry laughed and was about to raise the glass to finish off the juice before Ginny skilfully took it from him.

"Hey!" he mock protested and tried to get the glass back, but Ginny moved away from him quickly, that devious smirk in place.

"You need to learn to share dear," she said with a wink.

Harry grumbled good-naturedly as she raised the glass to her mouth and drank the rest of the juice. "Well that was nice," she said as he noticed her lick her lips as well.

Harry smirked and moved towards her, "speaking of sharing. I'd like to share something else with you." He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer to him. Ginny smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, still holding the glass in one hand.

Harry pressed his lips to hers and electricity still ran through his body when he felt her kiss him back. It didn't matter how many time they kissed, he would never get enough of it. They parted after a few more seconds and Ginny giggled taking her husband hand and tugging it gently, "come on, let's go outside."

Harry rolled his eyes with a fond smile at his wife. They both moved to the kitchen door when suddenly they both stopped as they felt a sudden rushing feeling take over their whole body. Still holding each other's hands, they looked at each other and knew the other was feeling the same thing.

Their temperature suddenly started to rise as they felt each other's hand get warmer and warmer. It wasn't an uncomfortable heat, but it overtook their whole body, unnerving them.

"Harry?" questioned Ginny; her voice came out faint and far away. Harry squeezed her hand and nodded. His eyes roamed to the glass she still had clenched in her other hand and her eyes followed his. It all clicked. There was something in the juice.

Their eyes found each other's again and suddenly their vision started to get blurry and they could feel themselves getting dizzy and drowsy.

Just when darkness took them, they felt something shift inside them and felt their bodies slowly start to shrink. They collapsed onto the cold kitchen floor as they finally lost consciousness and the glass, now free from Ginny's grasp rolled away from them.

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**(A/N) Well there you have it, hope you enjoyed the first chapter; please let me know what you think. L****ike always constructive criticism and helpful advice is always appreciated and I apologise for any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

**Update news and info about this story, as it progresses will be posted on my profile under My Stories - Update News, so keep a look out **_**(grins)**_**.**

**Now please review and let me know what you think **_**(smiles and points down to the review box)**_**. You know what to do.**


	2. Potion Confusion

**Wow… No way hozay… Thirteen reviews just for one chapter, man you guys just spoiled me in one and it's much appreciated _(grins)_. I'm glad everyone's enjoying this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Now on with chapter two. Enjoy...**

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of Harry Potter, that's ALL J.K Rowling.**

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"You're not having it James," said Albus as he, James and Lily made their way downstairs.

Albus had managed to get the invisibility cloak off his brother and stashed it somewhere safe in his room. It wasn't the first time James tried to use it without his permission or sneak into his room, but it was becoming exceedingly annoying. Couldn't his big brother just stay out of his room? What was wrong with his own room?

"Aw come on Al, I was only going to borrow it for a little while," said James with a smile, glad his brother was talking to him, even if he was still slightly annoyed.

"I don't care," countered Albus and crossed his arms over his chest. "You had your time with it and now it's mine."

"But I let you borrow it when I had it," argued James as they stepped into the foyer and walked into the living room.

Albus scoffed, "you came with me all the time when I wanted to use it, so that wasn't borrowing."

Before James could say anything, Lily cut in, "what were you even going to use it for James?"

James grinned, "I'm not telling now."

"I bet it was for another prank," stated Albus.

James shrugged, still grinning, "well we'll never know now will we."

Albus stuck his tongue out at his brother and huffed, "just stay out of my room James."

Lily rolled her eyes at her brothers and walked faster, not stopping in the living room and walked it straight into the kitchen toward the kitchen door. Honestly her brothers can be such idiots sometimes; she was the youngest in the family and most of the time she felt like she was the responsible one. Of course her brothers would deny that, she causes as much mischief and trouble as they did.

She opened the door wide, ready to greet her parents, but all she saw was the picnic table all set up and ready, an empty garden and no dad and mum. Confused Lily stepped outside on to the grass and looked around.

Their garden was relatively large, obvious as they had their own Quidditch pitch and it was always well kept. Their dad always liked to garden and most of the time he and mum would spend hours in the garden just enjoying the weather, the company and tending to the various plants. But as she looked around she could not see her parents anywhere.

"Mum? Dad?" she called out. She got no response.

She looked back into the kitchen, no sign of her parents. She could still hear her brothers arguing in the living room, so she knew their parents hadn't come in there. No doubt they would have stopped their ridiculous arguing if they did.

Lily sighed, running her hand through her long red hair. She did a quick scan of the garden again before going back inside.

"_Where have they gone? I didn't see them come upstairs,"_ she thought as the kitchen door closed behind her. Their mum was the only one who came upstairs, but she had gone straight downstairs after telling them the picnic was ready and that was only a few minutes ago.

"What's the matter Lilypad?" asked James. He walked into the kitchen with Albus right behind him. They didn't have grumpy faces on and they had stopped arguing, so Lily took that as a good sign.

She made a face at the nickname, but decided not to say anything about it this time, "I can't find dad and mum, they're not outside." She informed them, "Did you see them come inside?" she directed her question to Albus.

Albus shook his head, "no they were in the garden when I went upstairs. They're definitely not outside?"

Lily shook her head and frowned, if they weren't in the garden or in the house than where were they? Worry was slowly starting to creep on to her face, what if something had come up at the Auror department? Or something was wrong at the Burrow?

Upon seeing his little sister's worried expression, both brothers frowned as well, but they quickly tried to reassure her.

"Don't worry Lily, I'm sure they're around here somewhere," said James, turning his frown into a smile as he walked to the sink and have a glass of water.

Albus nodded, "they'll probably show up soon, maybe they had to run a quick errand or something." He leaned on the table and looked outside the kitchen window, trying to see if he could catch a glance of their parents if they were back outside. But he couldn't see anyone, _"weird, they usually let us know if they have to go somewhere or at least leave a note."_

He looked at the table and the fridge door, but he couldn't find any note or anything to tell them if their parents had gone out or something. He suddenly had a feeling he was forgetting something, but he couldn't quite place it.

Lily sighed and started to make her way around the table towards the sink, but as she turned the corner something hit her foot, making a clanking sound as it hit one of the chairs legs. Surprised she looked and found a glass on the floor.

"_How did that get down here?"_ she bent down and picked the glass up. But before she could straighten back up, Lily caught sight of something just further away from her.

Her eyes widened when she recognised what she was looking at and she gave out a startled sound. Both brothers jumped and looked towards her.

"Lily what are you doing on the floor?" asked James as he and Albus made their way to her side.

Lily said nothing as she stayed crouched down, looking at a pile of clothes lying on the floor. There seemed to be something moving underneath the clothes as they could see two lumps seemingly breathing slowly.

"Aren't these the clothes dad and mum were wearing?" asked Albus softly as James crouched down next to Lily.

James and Lily nodded as they recognised that Albus was right, "How did they get here?"

Suddenly James eyes widened and he shot up quickly, "oh Merlin if these are the clothes mum and dad were wearing, then… that doesn't mean that they're…" his voice trailed off, his face paling as he shakily pointed to the pile of robes.

It took a moment for his brother and sister to understand what he was referring to before disgust overtook their faces and a resounding "EWW" surrounded him.

"JAMES!" both of them yelled and Albus whacked him over the head.

"Oh Merlin, I don't need that image in my head," grimaced Lily.

"Don't even say or think that again. Ugh mum and dad can't be running around here all…" Albus grimaced and skipped finishing the sentence, "we haven't seen them—"

"If they are like that then I don't think we want to see them," inputted James with a grimace of his own.

Albus ignored him and continued, "we haven't heard anything either and it's obvious there's something underneath those clothes."

All three siblings gaze fell back on the pile of clothes and they saw something shift under the garments. Slightly unnerved that something was moving under their parent's clothes, each sibling was a little reluctant to go near it.

Lily being the closest stretched out her hand; the glass still clenched in her other hand, she gently and slowly reached forward and grasped the top layer of the clothes.

"Careful Lily, we don't know what's under there," cautioned James.

Lily nodded and with one swift movement she dragged the robes off.

"What the—"

"No way."

"Where did these kids come from?"

All three siblings gasped together and stared wide eyes at the two children lying unconscious on their kitchen floor.

The little boy was lying on his back, his raven black hair messy and flopping over his forehead, his mouth was slightly open and the only thing covering him was their dad's green shirt. One of the boy's hands was outstretched and holding the hand of the little girl. She was only covered with their mum's red shirt; the girl's red vibrant hair was short and straight, just touching her shoulder and she was lying on her side, nearly cuddling the boy.

"Albus, Lily why are there two younger version of you on the floor?" asked a confused James, he walked around and crouched down near the boy.

"What?" they both exclaimed.

"Well they look just like you guy when you were kids," explained James.

Both of his younger sibling gave him put-out looks, "how are we supposed to know," replied Lily and she looked back at the two young children, "I don't think they're us."

Lily shifted slightly and moved to check on the little girl who was lying closest to her, but stopped when she heard Albus gasp above her. James and Lily looked up at him and saw him staring at the glass Lily was holding.

"Al?"

Albus suddenly jerked, startling James and Lily and he started looking wildly around the kitchen, "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no." he quickly scanned over the table and the counters, but he couldn't find it.

The Pumpkin juice. The Pumpkin juice with the potion in it. It wasn't here.

His eyes zeroed in back on the glass his sister was holding. Realisation quickly dawning on him, _"oh please no."_

"Al?" Lily asked again. Both she and James were becoming concerned, their parents were nowhere to be found, there were two little kids lying unconscious on the floor and their brother was becoming increasingly pale.

"Lily… W-where did you find that glass?" Albus asked, pointing at it as his sister gave him a confused look.

"It was just here, on the floor near the table," she answered, she looked at her brother for a minute before becoming suspicious. "Al what's going on?"

Albus gulped and looked at the two children before turning his gaze to his sibling, "I think I know where mum and dad are." Before they could say anything Albus pointed to the kids, "they drank the potion."

James and Lily's eyes widened as they realised what Albus was saying and they quickly turned to the children. Taking a better look at them now, the little girl looked exactly like the photos of their mother when she was little and everyone always said Al was a splitting image of their father.

James slowly reached over and gently brushed the black locks of hair away from the boy's forehead and there it was sitting plainly in sight, the lightning bolt scar.

"_Oh man, how did this happen?"_ James stared at his young father in disbelief.

Then the rest of Albus sentence registered into his mind and James looked sharply up at Albus who was looking at their now parents-turned-children with surprise, concern and guilt in his bright green eyes. James featured softened slightly, he was going to yell at his little brother, but just by looking at him he knew Albus never meant for this to happen. But he had to find out what happened.

"Albus," Al looked at his brother, the worry evident in his eyes matching his older brothers, "what potion are you talking about?"

Albus ran his hands through his hair and Lily turned her attention to her brother, "did you spike their drinks or something Al?" she asked accusingly.

Albus quickly shook his head, "no no I didn't…. well I did, but it wasn't for mum and dad. I didn't know this was going to happen. It was just going to be a prank; the vial didn't say anything about them turning into little kids."

James raised an eyebrow at him, a prank? "Who were you planning on pranking?" he asked, even though he had a pretty good idea who it was.

"Well it was going to be you James," said Albus sheepishly.

He looked at his little brother perplexed, "I know you want to get back at me for that prank, but turning me into a little kid?"

"Yeah Al he's always acting like a little kid, I wouldn't see the difference if he did take the potion," interjected Lily with a grin.

James glared at his little sister, "I don't act like a little kid all the time, what's wrong with having some fun?"

"It wasn't supposed to _turn_ you into a little kid James," Albus said quickly, "it was supposed to _make you act_ like a little kid. You were supposed to drink it, not dad and mum."

"Well I don't think you went about it the right way," grumbled James. Albus just glared at him, remembering he was still supposed to be mad at his brother.

"Well this wouldn't have happened if you didn't prank me in the first place now would it," said Albus.

James narrowed his eyes, "oh so now this is my fault."

Albus shook his head, "no I'm not saying that, but if you just stop pranking me all the time then I wouldn't have thought to get back at you."

"That was your choice Al, I didn't force you to try and prank me. You could have come up with something else," James countered.

Lily, still crouching down, sprang up suddenly, startling her brothers and she glared at them angrily, "how could you two be arguing at a time like this. Dad and mum are in trouble and all you guys care about is that stupid prank. Ugh well both of you just let it go, you guys acting like babies isn't going to help this situation."

Her brown eyes so much like their mothers sparkled angrily at them and they both looked down, ashamed. Lily was right; they should be concentrating on helping their parents and not arguing over something so stupid.

"You're right Lily," said James, he looked up at Albus as he was still crouching on the floor, "I'm sorry Al."

"I'm sorry too James. I didn't mean for this to happen," Albus smiled at his brother and James smiled back.

"Don't worry little brother we'll find a way to fix this," reassured James, Albus nodded but looked a little solemn.

Lily smiled at her brothers, she knew the issue with the prank wasn't completely resolved, but they'll sort everything out later.

"Come on; let's take them to the living room. I don't think the kitchen floor is too comfortable," said Lily as she placed the glass on the table. She bent down and gently picked up their mother, Lily made sure to keep her wrapped up in her soft shirt. Ginny was so small and cute as she unconsciously curled up in Lily's arms and her daughter couldn't help but _'aww'_ in her head.

James gently scooped up their father and made sure to wrap his large shirt around him. He stood up and was surprised to find how light and small his father felt in his arms; he couldn't help but think how weird and amusing it was to hold his young father in his arms like this. He remembered when his father used to hold Lily and Albus like this.

James watched Albus quickly pick up the rest of their parents clothes and their father's glasses before they made their way into the living room. Lily and James placed the children gently on the couch and they turned to Albus who placed the clothes neatly in a pile on the table.

"Can I see the vial please Al?" asked James and Albus nodded, he took out the small purple vial and handed it to his brother.

James turned it around and looked at the small label on it, "_Child Mind, bringing back the child in you. Just pour into any drink and enjoy the next twenty four hours of child-like bliss, suitable for your amusement, enjoyment and revenge. Weasleys Wizard Wheezes."_ He read aloud, "Well guess it was more child-like than child mind."

"If their minds were supposed to be change into children, then why did they physical turn into children?" asked Lily as she looked at her mother and father. _"This is so weird. My parents are younger than me,"_ she thought

"No idea," replied Albus as he and James shrugged. "There's obviously something wrong with the potion."

James rolled his eyes, "no doubt."

Lily kept staring at them and couldn't help but think how cute her parents look as small children. "You know Al, it's true, dad looks so much like you when you were younger," she commented as she smiled up at her brother.

Albus smiled as well and gave a small chuckle, "I think that's the other way around."

"You know what I mean."

"Well the same can be said for you and mum Lily," stated James with a grin as he twirled the vial in his hand. Lily smiled proudly and James and Albus chuckled.

"Does it say anything about turning them back?" asked Lily as she and Albus sat on the couch next to their parents; they gently took their small hands in theirs.

James scanned the rest of the label and vial carefully, but he couldn't find anything else. "No that's about it," he said and all three of them looked dejected.

"What are we going to do?" asked Lily after a little while of silence, "should we tell someone?"

Albus shook his head, "who are we going to tell? Everyone's out of the UK and Teddy is on an Auror mission. We don't know when he's coming back."

"Oh yeah" Lily looked dejected again as they all looked down and contemplated on what to do.

"Wait, didn't Fred and Roxanne says that they weren't planning on going anywhere for the holiday," said James suddenly remembering what his cousins told him.

Albus and Lily expressions brighten slightly and they nodded.

"Yeah, I think they're staying at the Burrow," said Albus. All three of them could remember how Fred and Roxanne tried making them jealous that they had the Quidditch pitch and the whole Burrow to themselves for the holiday. It succeeded for a while, before they were reminded that the Potters had their own Quidditch pitch.

"That means we can contact Uncle George, who better to ask than the guy who made it. He'll definitely know what's going on," smiled Lily.

"And what to do," said Albus with his own smile.

"Great, it's settled. Let's call Uncle George," said James and he made his way to the fireplace.

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**(A/N) Let's just say the Potter kids are not going to be happy with Uncle George's answers **_**(grins)**_**. So tell me, did you enjoy it? Love it? Hate it? Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistake, I'm trying my best. Please review, you know what to do guys **_**(points to the review box).**_

**Ramadan Mubarak to those who are keeping a fast, hope it's going well and may this month be successful to you and your families _(smiles)._**


	3. Unwanted Revelations

**You know I'm finding it so hard to believe that this story has reached over twenty review already **_**(smiles happily)**_** Thanks to everyone who review, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much and I hope you like this chapter too.**

**Enjoy...**

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of Harry Potter, that's ALL J.K Rowling.**

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James threw the Floo Powder into the fireplace; green fire roared to life and in a clear voice he said, "The Burrow."

Without hesitation he placed his head into the fire and waited patiently for the living room of the Burrow to appear.

Despite the seriousness of the situation they were in and he knew they were going to get into such big trouble. James couldn't help but smile as the warm cosy view of the Burrow living room came into sight.

His smile widened when he saw his two cousins Fred and Roxanne sitting on the armchairs, intensely playing a game of wizard's chess. The floor was littered with other wizard games and he grinned as they both jumped in surprise when his head appeared.

"Hey Fred, Hey Roxanne," he greeted.

"Hey James," they replied and Fred got up and walked closer to the fireplace as Roxanne leaned over the arm and smiled at her cousin, "how's it going mate?"

"Um okay," he wasn't really sure if he wanted to tell Fred or Roxanne about their situation, he needed to speak to Uncle George.

"Are you going to come over?" Fred asked, his red hair falling over his excited brown eyes as he looked down at James.

James shook his head and smiled ruefully at his cousins. He loved spending time with his cousins, but he didn't feel it right to leave his parents and siblings alone. "Sorry Fred I can't. Is Uncle George here?"

Fred raised an eyebrow at him but nodded, "yeah, I think he's upstairs. Hold on I'll go call him." James nodded and watched Fred get up and run in the direction of the stairs.

He sighed, he hoped Uncle George would be able to help and explain to them what was going on. He was feeling a little guilty over what happened. He couldn't help but agree that if it wasn't for his prank, Albus would have felt the need to prank him back and they wouldn't have landed in this mess. But he knew if he was feeling like this, Albus would be feeling it ten times worse.

"Is everything alright James?" asked Roxanne from her seat, her cousin wasn't normally this quiet.

James smiled at her and nodded. "I'm fine Roxy. How's the first week of holidays going?" Unlike her brother Roxanne had brown hair like their mother, but they both shared the same dark skin –Fred being slightly lighter– and brown eye colour.

Roxanne smiled, "so far so good, me and mum beat Fred and dad at a game of Quidditch yesterday," she laughed, "but they kept on denying it, say they let us win."

James grinned, "We should play a game together soon. It's been a while since we have." Fred, Roxanne and Aunt Angelina were great Chasers and Uncle George was really talented as a Beater. His cousins were already in their House Quidditch teams, he wouldn't be surprised if they decided to do it professionally, especially Fred.

"Yeah we should," she said excitedly, "hey let's make up a day for all of us to get together for a game."

James hesitated, "maybe, but not right now Roxy. I really need to talk to Uncle George."

This time Roxanne raised her eyebrow and looked at her cousin confused, he usually never turned down a game of Quidditch, "okay, but are you sure everything's alright?"

James chuckled, "don't worry Roxanne, everything is fine."

Before Roxanne could say anything else, Fred came back followed by Uncle George. George smiled at his nephew's floating head and greeted him, "hey there Jamie, everything alright?"

James pouted slightly at the nickname, but nevertheless greet his uncle happily, "hi Uncle George. Yeah everything's fine; I was just wondering if I could ask you about something?"

"Sure James what is it?" asked George as he crouched down at the fireplace.

"Well you know that um..." he started but he trailed off as he glanced at Fred and Roxanne who were listening attentively behind their dads back.

George followed his nephew's gaze and chuckled as his kids spontaneously turned around when he faced them and pretended to look interested at their game as the little chess pieces shouted and yelled at them to hurry up and make a move.

George chuckled again, "Fred, Roxanne why don't you two go help your mum outside."

"No I think we're good here dad," said Fred, not looking up from the chess board.

"Yeah we haven't finished our chess game yet," added Roxanne as she pretended to think over her next move.

"You haven't?" George said in mock surprise and then grinned, "Well after you've finished your game, you can both help each other de-gnome the garden after dinner."

Fred and Roxanne both blanched and sprang into action pretty quickly, "mum's outside did you say dad?" asked Roxanne as she followed her brother outside.

"We'll finish the game later, have a nice chat," said Fred with a quick smile and closed the kitchen door.

Both uncle and nephew waited for a few seconds before turning back to each other with grins on their face. "What is it you wanted to ask me James?"

Now that his cousins were gone, he sighed and gave his uncle a serious look, "um you know that new potion you got for the joke shop. The purple vial called Child Mind," he elaborated when George gave him a confused look but then nodded.

"Well Albus may have, sort of... borrowed it," said James, he heard Albus sigh behind him and figured he was leaning against the fireplace, listening to the conversation.

George's eyes widened, "borrowed it? Are you sure it was the small purple vial?"

James nodded and grimaced when he suddenly had his uncle's full attention, that was not good, "I think there's something wrong with it."

George shook his head, "I know there is something wrong with it James. It's a prototype potion after all; I haven't actually fixed all the kinks yet."

"A prototype potion?" echoed James nervously.

He felt his brother drop down next to him, "I didn't know it was prototype, it just said new supplies on the box," he murmured urgently.

"Yes," George looked a little sheepish as a grin appeared on his face, "let just say the potion puts more emphasis on child than mind. Took a while for the volunteers to turn back to normal after that," he added thoughtfully.

"How long did it take for them to turn back exactly?" asked James carefully.

"Well, I'm not completely—" started George, but stopped when he realised what his nephew was saying, "did any one of you take it?"

"Well um..."

"James," his uncle asked sternly and cautiously, "who drank it?"

Both Albus and James flinched at the question and Albus looked at his unconscious adult-turned-children parents lying on the couch together. Lily gave him a sympathetic look before moving to sit on the floor next to them.

"Dad and Mum did," answered James.

"What?" George blinked in surprise.

Not being able to take anymore Albus placed his head in the fire next to his brother and addressed his uncle frantically, "it's all my fault Uncle George. I wanted to prank James. I mixed the potion in with Pumpkin juice and thought I'll trick James into taking it, but dad and mum took it instead. I didn't mean for them to take it, honest. And now they've turned into little kids and we don't know what to do."

"Whoa calm down Al, I'm sure you didn't mean it," smiled George reassuringly at his nephews. Both of them had worried faces on and he was worried too but he knew everything would turn out alright. "Can you boys tell me when they took the potion?"

Albus and James both blinked once and tried frantically to remember when their parents must have taken the potion, "I think it was about half an hour ago, not long," answered James.

"Okay then they should be waking up soon. Do you know how much each of them drank? You said you mixed it in with Pumpkin juice Al."

Albus nodded, "yeah, but I mixed it in to one glass. Dad and mum must have shared it."

George nodded and thought for a few seconds before looking at his nephews, "Okay, I got some good news and some bad news."

James and Albus looked at their uncle nervously. Lily saw their bodies tense and she started to fidget as she continued to listen to the conversation.

"What's the... what's the good news?" asked James. He would rather hear something good to concentrate on, if it meant his parents would be alright.

George smiled reassuringly again, "nothing serious will happen to them, all the volunteers turned completely back to normal when the potion ran its course and there were no serious side effects that caused any harm."

The three siblings sighed in relief at that, especially Albus who was feeling guilty and worried about his parents. He didn't think that something as a simple and funny prank would go so hopelessly wrong and possibly harm the people he loved.

"What's the bad news?"

"Well it will take... some time for the potion to wear off and both Harry and Ginny will have reverted back to their younger selves," Albus opened his mouth to ask a question, but George quickly went on, "meaning you're parents really are little children, they will think and act just like children. They won't have any recollection of their lives proceeding from their childhood and they won't know who you three are."

James looked at his uncle in shock and Albus felt a little sick. Their parents wouldn't know who they were?

"So basically you're telling us that dad and mum will physically and mentally be children. It won't be like they're adults trapped in a child's body," queried Albus.

George nodded grimly, "unfortunately yes, it's as the name says Al, Child Mind. It literally turned the drinker into a child and morphs their mind back into that state."

"Oh," said Albus faintly, feeling even more sick.

"How long will it take for the potion to wear off precisely Uncle George?" asked James.

George sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "well it will take about two maybe three months, give or take a few days."

Brown and green eyes, similar to his sister and brother-in-law's; widened considerably and stared back at him in shock.

"Two-two to t-three—" stammered out James.

"MONTHS?" exclaimed Albus in disbelief, "but the vial said it'll only last for twenty four hours."

"That's another one for the kinks," explained George, "the duration of the potion is lengthened. Uncle Ron and I are looking into it. We definitely collected a lot of data from the volunteers," he chuckled and shook his head, "next time Al please don't go through things that aren't on display in front of the shop."

Blushing a little, Albus nodded and James raised an eyebrow at his brother, "where did you get it?"

"Um it was in Uncle George's office, behind his desk," admitted Albus.

George laughed; he remembered Albus disappeared for a while before rejoining, half an hour later. "I'll let you in on a secret Al," their uncle leaned in closer with a grin on his face, "behind the desk means do not touch."

Albus smiled sheepishly and nodded, "got it Uncle George. I'm sorry; I just really wanted to get back at James for the confetti pants. But you know you got to put better labelling on stuff like this."

James grinned and agreed with his brother and George sighed dramatically, "I'll give you that Al. Woe is the day that I get reprimanded by my own nephew."

His two nephews laughed and George was glad to see them lighten up a little, he knew the tasks before them won't be easy, but hopefully it'll help the boys in the long run.

"Next time you want to prank someone Al, just come to me. I have been an expert at this sort of thing since I was your age," he advised, the confetti pants was obviously one of his inventions and Albus nodded.

James sobered up quickly, "what do we need to do to help dad and mum Uncle George?"

"There isn't much you can do Jamie," admitted George softly and he frowned when both boys looked crestfallen. "The potion will wear off itself and until then it seems you three have the responsibility of looking after your parents."

"WHAT?" wide eyes returning again.

"Well if I remember correctly your parents are in this situation because of a prank concerning the both of you. So now how I see it, it time to take responsibility of your actions and fix this."

"But-but how are we going to take care of little kids? Even if they are mum and dad, we don't know anything about look after children," said James a little frantic, he didn't want to mess up anything with his parents or his siblings.

George smiled reassuringly at him, "I'm sure you'll be fine, you got me and Aunt Angelina if you need any help and I'm sure Teddy will be back soon. And look at it this way," he started and Albus and James looked at him hopefully, "you'll get to learn a lot more about your mum and dad this way."

"What do you mean?" asked James.

"Well how much do you really know about your parent's childhood? Look at this as an opportunity that not a lot of kids get to have."

"What else is there to know?" asked Albus cautiously, he wasn't being mean or snarky. He was just curious about the expression their uncle had on his face. He looked a little sad and happy and he wanted to know why.

George smiled, "as you two know, we weren't one of the wealthiest pure-blooded wizard families when we were young. We never had the luxuries that you kids have now and we all had our own way of dealing with it and you're mother... Well she was definitely a spirited person as a child," George laughed gently as his mind drifted and Albus and James waited patiently for him to continue. This was a common occurrence around adults and it was understandable. "and you're dad," he paused for a second, "there's a lot about him that you don't know and you three got a chance to find out," George smiled at his nephews confused faces, "don't waste it."

Both of the brothers nodded their heads slowly, they were both curious about what their uncle was talking about. It was true; they didn't know much about their parents past. The past wasn't a happy topic for most, but they only got to hear about it when all the adults were reminiscing together at a family gathering, namely Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries.

"Okay Uncle George," they both said in unison.

George smiled at them, "good now you two better take good care of my little sister," George couldn't help but snicker, "and my little brother-in-law. I'll come by and check on you five from time to time."

Both brothers gave small smiles at their uncle and nodded, "we will, thanks Uncle George."

Before they withdrew from the fire, George spoke up again, "oh and remember you guys are in big trouble after this is all over."

James and Albus flinched and pouted before drawing back from the fireplace, the image of their Uncle and the Burrow disappearing. They slowly stood up and the green fire flickered out as they turned to their sister and sleeping parents.

"Three months, I can't believe they're going to be stuck like this for three months," groaned Albus, "how could I have been so stupid?"

"Hey it's not your fault Al," comforted James and Lily nodded, "you didn't know the potion was a prototype, anyone could have made that mistake. Heck you know I would have," he grinned humorously and his chest lightened slightly as Albus gave him a smile.

"Don't worry, we'll get through this together," he circled his arm around his brother, giving him a reassuring hug before letting go and patting him on the back and casting a equally reassuring smile at his sister, who returned it, "just like we always do whenever we get in trouble ."

Albus laughed gently, "Potters always stick together."

Lily and James laughed as well and nodded.

All three of them looked back at their silent young parents and sighed. "Well I guess we got our work cut out for us this summer," smiled Lily as she gently brushed her father's black hair with her hand.

Both brothers nodded and moved to sit on the two armchairs opposite the couch. Even thought they knew they could – would make it out okay and without any major problems. But the seriousness of the situation finally crashed down on them like a ton of breaks and their uncle's words kept running through their minds.

James took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, while Albus ran his hand through his hair. Lily sighed and curled up on the floor; bringing her knees up to her chest and circling her arms around them. They would be okay. They were all Potters. They'll stick together and make it through this.

They all sat in silence and contemplated on all the information and advice their uncle gave them. Minutes ticked by and James sighed, leaning back into the armchair. The task of taking care of his parents-turned-children was a little daunting. He knew he'd have Albus and Lily's help, but how was he supposed to take care of little kids. He couldn't even manage his own brother and sister at times and he was supposed to be the eldest, the role model. He already had a lot of responsibility and now he had to take care of his _whole_ family.

He looked up and watched his father's and mother's little chests rise and fall. They looked so vulnerable and small, so unlike their adult selves who radiated confidence and courage. Was there a lot more to his mum and dad than they originally thought? He remembered his Uncles George's words, _"I'll get to learn more about mum and dad?"_ he thought. What more had they not told him?

Albus was watching his parents as well; guilt was consuming more of his mind than anything else. He knew it wasn't his fault and James and Lily didn't begrudge him on it, but there was still a part of him that felt it was still his fault.

How can he have let this happen? Even though they didn't have anything planned for the holidays, he knew his dad wanted to spend some quality time with all of them and he couldn't help but think he just ruined it all. His father was turned into a little child, who wouldn't know who they were and why he's here when he woke up. How was he going to deal with this? How was he going to make it up to them?

"_Don't waste it."_

He watched as his mother's and father's hands twitched. He'll take that advice, whatever his uncle was trying to tell them he'll find out and if his father wanted quality time, then he'll make sure he'll get it.

Lily sighed as she discreetly watched her brothers, she knew both of them held some guilt for what happened and even thought she agreed it wasn't their faults she didn't want them beating themselves up about it. She couldn't believe their parents were going to be stuck like this for nearly three months, which covered their whole summer holiday. Well if that was the case then she'll help make it a memorable holiday for both her, her parents and her brothers.

She turned her head fully towards Albus and James and she was about to say something to cheer them up, but she was startled when she suddenly felt something move behind her.

She quickly whirled around, surprising her brother by the fast action and she stared wide eyes as their father stretched and gave a soft groan as he started to wake up.

"Dad's waking up," she informed them and both James and Albus jumping off the armchairs as Lily slowly got up and watched with them.

Little Harry's arms curled up above his head as he stretched his small limbs and they watched with bated breath as he slowly started to open his eyes.

Big green sleepy eyes opened up and Harry gave a small yawn as he slowly sat up and rubbed his eye. He didn't remember going to sleep and he didn't remember being anywhere near a soft cushiony couch when he was awake last. He felt warm for some reason and he looked around.

The room was big and slightly spacious, it felt homey and cosy. It wasn't too clean like the living room in the Dursley's house and it wasn't too messy like Dudley's room. The walls were painted in soft blue and cream colours and the furniture was placed in the room nowhere near as neatly as his Aunt placed them. But for some odd reason he liked it.

He saw a doorway go off to what appeared to be a kitchen and he felt the warm sun's light beam through a window he couldn't see because of the height of the couch he was sitting on. But where was he? How did he get here?

The three Potter siblings watched as their father looked around the living room with open curiosity, staying silent as his young face swept through the room. They had hoped that their uncle was wrong and their parents did remember where and who they were. But judging by their father's curious and confused face, they guessed it was otherwise.

James shuffled a little and they were all startled when their father whipped around to face them so suddenly and they marvelled as his big expressive emerald eyes took them in. They had never seen their father's eyes hold so much innocence and wonder and without his glasses on his green eyes shone brightly as they swept over their faces.

Lily and Albus smiled gently at Harry and James gave a small chuckle as their young father's eyes widened upon seeing three unknown people stand near him and a small girl lying next to him on the middle of the couch.

Harry clutched the shirt at his chest and stared at the teenagers in front of him, he knew it was rude, but they were staring too and that was ruder.

Lily chuckled gently and decided to break the silence first. She moved forward and kneeled down near the couch, bringing herself eye level with her young father, "hi," she said sweetly and smiled.

Harry watched her shyly and shuffled a little, "hello," his voice was soft and quiet and he watched as James and Albus came up behind their sister and smiled down at him.

Before Lily could say anything else, they all heard a soft groan and turned to look at Ginny who was waking up in the same fashion as Harry did. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, before sitting up, surprise and confusion littered her face as she looked around. Her big brown eyes, so much like James and Lily's, widened upon seeing them and they all smiled at her, except for Harry who watched her curiously.

Ginny shuffled away from him and sat near the other side of the couch, "what's going on? Where's mummy and daddy?" she asked in her young voice as she looked around the room for them. Her vibrant red hair bounced around her face and a small frown appeared on her lips as she looked at the people she didn't know stare back at her.

James quickly sat down near their young mother and tried to come up with something to answer her questions, "hi," he smiled at her gently and she looked at him shyly, "we're your babysitter's while gram— um I mean while your mummy and daddy have to go do something… important for the Ministry."

Ginny blinked at him, Albus and Lily mentally face-faulted and Harry watched them with wide eyes, slightly bewildered, what was a Ministry?

"Really?" she asked with a pout and James nodded. Her mummy and daddy usually didn't leave without telling her or taking her with them or at least not without saying goodbye, "but I didn't get to see mummy and daddy before they left."

"Oh, no don't worry," quickly interjected Albus and two sets of young eyes focused on him, "grand—you did get to say goodbye, but you were pretty tired when they dropped you off. You fell straight asleep. Just like him," he grimaced slightly at his slipups and gestured to the little boy who was watching them silently.

Ginny looked at the boy before turning back to Albus and nodded slowly. If she got to say goodbye then that was okay, she always kissed her mummy and daddy goodbye or good night and she didn't want to stop now even if she had been really tired.

Harry perked up a little, finally getting some information on how _he_ got here, "where are Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon?" he asked quietly, sitting up slightly straighter. Were they his babysitters too? He hoped they were, he liked Mrs Figg, but he never got to have any fun at her house and the only things he got to play with were her cats and look at her cat albums. But these people looked nice.

"Oh um… they dropped you off here too," said Lily quickly, "they wanted to go on a small holiday, but little kids aren't allowed where they're going."

"Yeah," Albus added, aiding his sister, "so we asked to babysit you until they come back."

"Oh and your cousin Dudley is staying over at his friend's house, so you don't have to worry about him," Lily finished and smiled reassuringly at her dad. She didn't want Harry to feel left out by saying his cousin went with them and she didn't want him to think they favoured their son more than him.

But all Harry did was nod, it did sound like something his aunt and uncle would do. They always talked about going somewhere nice and leaving him behind. Well they did that plenty of times already, either locking him up in his cupboard or asking Mrs Figg to look after him. He was surprised they didn't take Dudley with them though, but if he was staying at a friend's house, namely Piers Polkiss, than he'll definitely be having fun.

"So I get to stay here?" he asked Lily, she nodded, "I don't have to go to Mrs Figg's house?"

Confused to who Mrs Figg was, she nodded nonetheless and Harry nodded again, his young face looking slightly happier than before.

Lily watched her father curiously and turned to her brothers. They were watching too and she gave them a curious look, but they only shook their heads. They didn't know who Mrs Figg was either.

"So what's your name?" asked Ginny as she looked at all of them and sat next to Harry, her brown eyes sparkling brightly. These people seemed nice and she hoped she'd have fun here, like she did when Bill and Charlie had to babysit her, Ron, Fred and George and Percy when their parents had to go out.

"_Oh right they don't know us,"_ all three Potter siblings thought sadly. Albus and James sat on the floor next to Lily and made themselves comfortable.

James decided to go first, "My name is James and this is my brother Albus and my sister Lily," he wondered if he should add that they were their sons and daughter. But currently thought it was a bad idea.

"My name is Ginevra, but you can call me Ginny," little Ginny scrunched up her nose cutely when she said her full name, but smiled.

Lily and Albus chuckled at their mother's face and James smirked. Their mother always told everyone to call her Ginny and not Ginevra. If they did they were always on the receiving end of a nasty bat-bogey hex or had a death glare aimed at them. The only ones who got away with called their mum by her full name were their dad and grandparents.

"Okay Ginny," smiled Albus and he turned to his father, who was sitting quietly and watching them. "And what's your name?"

Harry blinked; they wanted to know his name? Usually he was told he wasn't important enough to be called by his own name, so the question surprised him. His aunt and uncle always called him boy or freak.

He realised they were still waiting for an answer and not wanting to be yelled at, he quickly answered, "Harry," he said shyly.

Albus gave him a kind smile; he didn't know their father was really shy when he was young. Quiet and sometimes brooding yes, but never shy. Their father always spoke his mind and held confidence in his voice.

"How old are you Harry?" he asked, he wanted his father to speak more, to be more like his grown-up self and he watched with amusement when their mother looked at their father and Harry looked shyly at her as she smiled at him.

"I'm six," he said, fidgeting with the edge of his shirt. Harry didn't question how big the shirt looked on him; it barely held on his shoulders, the length of it practically hid his whole body and the short sleeves covered his arms, passed his elbows. But he was used to wearing clothes that were ten times his size, so he saw no reason to question it and he didn't want to get into trouble.

"I'm five," declared Ginny with a giggle, "you're one year older than me Harry, just like Ron."

Harry nodded with a small smile. Ginny seemed nice, she was sitting close to him and swinging her small legs to and fro as she continued to look at him. Usually a lot of kids didn't like him or wanted to play with him and that was mainly because of his cousin. So he was glad that Ginny hadn't met Dudley yet or he would have scared her into not playing with him.

Lily was smiling at her young parents as Ginny questioned Harry more. Ginny was quite talkative while Harry was the shy and silent type, only giving one worded answers. Her mother's eyes were shinning with innocence and playfulness and her father's... well they were subdued. She felt a slight weight fall on her chest as she watched her father interact, it didn't seem like he was used to having other people talk to him, but of course she'd only known him as a child for ten minutes, so she didn't want to judge too quickly.

Albus was thinking along the same lines as Lily. Ginny reminded him so much of Lily when she was her age. She always liked talking and playing with anyone she could find, she was very friendly and open. But this young Ginny was a contrast to her older self, their mum was friendly and had a mischievous streak, yet she wasn't as open to anyone and had a quick temper. But of course Grandma Molly always said Ginny had a little bit of a temper when she was younger and she hardly cried, –the result of being the youngest and only girl in the family of six older boys– so it was no surprise that she was tough. Lily only had to deal with him and James and she had all their female cousins to go to for some girl time.

But as he looked at his young father, he was completely different to his older self. No one knew much about his dad's past. His Dad definitely didn't talk about it much and even if his life before Hogwarts was mentioned there wasn't a happy face in the room. Except for his dad, who would shrug it off with a smile and change the subject.

Albus couldn't help the sense of worry and concerns develop in him as he continued to watch his parents. It hadn't even been a half an hour and he was already finding out much about his dad by just looking at his body language and they way he spoke. Should a child be so quiet and mindful? He noticed his father didn't feel comfortable and that bothered him.

James saw the concern flicker through Albus eyes before vanishing and he saw Lily tense up whenever their father just nodded to a question or fidgeted. He knew what they were thinking about and he was glad they were all on the same page. He didn't want to be the only one who noticed the differences and he was definitely going to ask them about it later. But for now it was best to stay and think positive.

"How are both of you feeling? Good?" James asked Harry and Ginny. Even though his uncle said there wouldn't be any side effects, he still wanted to be sure.

Both Harry and Ginny nodded and James, Albus and Lily gave a sigh of relief. Little Ginny fidgeted with the large red shirt she had on, "how come this is so big?"

James, Albus and Lily smiled nervously at her question, how were they going to explain that?

"Well err... I think it would be best if we get you both changed into something nicer... and something that fits," said Lily as she got up, detouring her mother's question.

Albus and James got up as well and were about to help Harry and Ginny off the couch when he heard his and Albus stomach growl in hunger.

He chuckled, Albus blushed, Lily giggled and Harry and Ginny looked at them bewildered.

"Who's up for a picnic?"

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**(A/N) Wonder how the picnic will go? **_**(Grins)**_** James, Albus and Lily will soon find out that their assumptions are just the icing on the cake and they'll have a lot more to worry about in later chapters.**

**Well I hope you liked this chapter, please let me know what you think. Personally I'm not totally satisfied with it, especially the part where Harry and Ginny wake up, but I hope you like it and it's worth a review **_**(smiles)**_**.**

**Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistake and hope everyone who celebrated Eid-Ul-Fitr had a wonderful time with friends and families and Insha'Allah (If God wills) may you all have a wonderful time when Eid-Ul-Adha comes around **_**(smiles)**_**.**

**Now you know what to do **_**(grins and points down to the review box)**_** please review.**


	4. Pizza Fights

**You guys have a habit of blowing me away don't you **_**(grins happily)**_** I can't believe the amount of review this story has got. Now only if I can maintain it.**

**Now I won't beat around the bush, here's the fourth chapter. Hope you like it and please let me know what you think **_**(smiles)**_**.**

**Enjoy...**

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of Harry Potter, that's ALL J.K Rowling.**

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"I think they're in these boxes," said Lily as she rummaged through a set of large cardboard boxes littering the corners of the room.

"Hey I found mine and James clothes," declared Albus with a grin and he walked around a corner of highly stacked boxes, holding another box.

"You know you have a lot of boxes in here," stated Ginny as she and Harry wondered around the room, still in their oversized shirts.

Albus and Lily were currently in the attic, looking for some of their old clothes that could fit little Harry and Ginny. Their young parents were both exploring the large attic with open curiosity and interest.

They tried to stay away from the tall stacks of boxes scattering the room, encase they might end up falling on them with the slightest nudge and they both didn't want to get into trouble. The clothes they were currently wearing were no help either; they kept on making them trip and stumble.

Ginny had complained openly about it, to which Lily had laughed and offered to carry her up to the attic. The suddenly turned five years old agreed happily and Lily quickly scooped her up, marvelling at how light their mother was and started up for the attic. Albus –without waiting for an answer or well… asking– did the same with little Harry, he quickly swooped and gathered his young father into his arms, earning a startled yelp and with a smile followed his sister and mother upstairs.

"Oh here I found another box," Lily grinned triumphantly. She placed the box next to the other one and looked to her wondering parents.

"Mu- err Ginny," it felt so weird calling her parents by their first names, "can you come here please. I think I found you some clothes to try on."

Ginny smiled brightly and quickly and carefully trotted over to the older girl. Lily opened up both of the boxes and was happy to find some of her old clothes. Both were filled with colourful and nicely preserved clothes and shoes, she wondered if her parents had put a preservation charm on them. "What would you like to wear Mu- Ginny?"

Little Ginny tip-toed and looked into the box, the box's had lovely little dresses, shoes, shirts and pants with pretty flowers and patterns on them packed neatly in. She reached in; shuffling some dresses aside, Ginny even took some out and looked at them for a second before shaking her head and placing them back in.

Lily watched with amusement as her young mother practically disregarded all the dresses and shuffled through all her old shirts, leggings and pants. "Don't you like dresses Ginny?"

Ginny stopped her searching and looked up at the older redhead, "I do, but Mummy makes me wear them a lot, but I like wearing shirts too. My brothers wear them all the time."

Lily grinned, being the only girl with six older brothers in their days; Grandma Molly must have really wanted to spoil Ginny with all the girly stuff. But it didn't seem like it worked, her young mum seemed to be a little of a tomboy.

"My brothers wear them too," she said looking at Albus who was grinning at them, listening as he continued to search for any more boxes with either his or James clothes in. Little Harry was sitting next to the box Albus had found earlier, watching them intently.

Lily turned her gaze back to Ginny and winked, "but I think I look much better in them than they do."

Ginny giggled and nodded, "me too," and turned back to her searching. After a minute she gave out a little triumphant sound and pulled out a little purple and white short sleeved, striped t-shirt with dark purple flowers blooming on the bottom. "Can I wear this one?"

"Sure," smiled Lily and she looked into the box and took out a dark blue jeggings, "why don't you try this with it. I used to wear these together." She handed the pants to Ginny who took them; she looked at them for a second before smiling at Lily.

"Okay," Ginny turned around and hide behind the stack of boxes in the corner to get dressed.

"Do you need any help?" asked Lily, she got up and followed Ginny, standing just around the boxes and waited.

"No I can do it." Lily grinned, even at five years old, their mum was pretty independent.

Lily turned her gaze to her father, who was watching them quietly. She smiled at him and Harry gave a small shy smile back and looked down. Was their father always so quiet and shy? Lily never imaged her big and strong Auror father to be so timid at a young age.

"I found another one," cheered Albus and he came forward with another box, "you know I think Mu- Ginny's right, we have a lot of boxes in here."

Lily laughed and Harry looked up as Albus sat the box down next to the other one and opened them both up.

"Alright Da- Harry, choose you pick. What would you like to wear?" asked Albus, encouraging the now six years old to look in the boxes.

Harry got up, stumbled a little as the green shirt got caught under his feet, but quickly righted himself and looked into the boxes. They were equally filled with little shirts, trousers, jeans and shoes, packed neatly. He had never seen so many clean and new looking clothes before, well except in Dudley's wardrobe in his bedroom, but never for him.

Harry looked up at Albus who was smiling at him, "I can pick whatever I want?" he asked cautiously.

Albus nodded, slightly bewildered by the look his young dad was giving him, "yes you can, whatever you like."

Harry looked at him for a few more seconds before a small smile spread on his face and he looked back into the boxes. It didn't take long for him to choose what he wanted to wear, he took out a small blue long sleeve t-shirt with a red racing car on it and dark blue small jeans. He didn't know if these were okay, but he decided he liked them. He never got to pick out his own clothes, Aunt Petunia always gave him Dudley's old clothes and he never liked them, but had no choice but to wear them.

Harry showed the clothes to Albus to get his approval and the older black haired boy nodded at him, smiling.

"Why don't you go try those on Harry?" Harry nodded and hurried as carefully as he could behind the stack of boxes Albus had come out from earlier. The shirt and jean was his and Albus was happy to know he and his father had the same taste in clothes when they were young.

"Harry do you need any help?" Albus asked quickly as he took out a pair of white trainers.

There was silence for minute before a small "no" was heard.

Albus looked at Lily and she shrugged, but he could see the concern in her brown eyes. Before he could say anything, Ginny came out and fully dressed with a smile on her face.

"How do I look?" she gave a little twirl and giggled. The clothes fit her perfectly the two oldest noted and smiled as Ginny pulled out a pair of white shoes.

"You look really pretty Mu- Ginny," smiled Lily and she helped her put the shoes on. "They're not too tight are they?"

"No," and she got up and jumped up and down, apparently testing the shoes.

"Come here," Lily gently fixed the clothes, smoothing them down and tucked her mother's hair behind her ears. She smiled and Ginny smiled back fiddling with the flowers. "There, you're all ready for a picnic."

"Is Harry ready?" Ginny asked and she looked around the attic for him.

Albus chuckled a little, "nearly." He turned around and peaked around the corner of the boxes, "you ready Harry?"

Harry had just pulled down his shirt and twisted round to look up at Albus, before nodding hurriedly and quickly came round the corner to join them. Albus smiled at him, he thought he saw something red and purple on his little father's stomach before the t-shirt went down, but then his own stomach gave a rumble and decided to investigate it later.

The clothes fit Harry nicely, the blue shirt was slightly wider and the jeans appeared slightly longer, but overall it fit him much better than his older self's green shirt. Albus kneeled down and gently fixed Harry's clothes. He smoothed down his shirt, folded the sleeves a little and the bottom of the jeans. The whole time Harry stayed still, tense even.

Aunt Petunia usually yanked at his clothes forcibly if he didn't put them on properly, taunting him and calling him useless. But not the older teen in front of him, the older boy's hands were gentle and careful; he was smiling as he helped him. It was… weird.

Albus gave his dad a one over and nodded approvingly, he didn't notice the confused and curious looks his father was giving him and straightened up.

Ginny smiled at Harry and walked up to him as Lily and Albus quickly checked the boxes and closed them up, "that looks a lot better than the other shirt you had on."

Harry looked down and fiddled with his sleeves, "thanks." Girls didn't usually talk to him, so he didn't know what to say. But he knew it was a good thing to be polite and he looked up at her, "you're clothes look nice too."

Ginny smiled brightly and Harry shyly smiled back, his fidgeting increasing, "thanks, I don't always like to wear dresses."

Harry nodded, remembering what she had told the older girl – Lily, "Your mummy makes you wear them too much."

Ginny nodded, pouting slightly and Harry had to grin a little at that, he knew he didn't like the clothes Aunt Petunia made him wear all the time, so in some ways he could relate. Suddenly Harry's tummy rumbled and he quickly circled his arms around his stomach.

Ginny noticed and giggled, "I'm hungry too."

"Me too, let's head down. I'm sure James is all set outside," added Albus with a grin, he was holding the two boxes with his and James clothes in it, as was Lily with hers and they were both ready to go downstairs.

"Are all those mine?" asked Ginny to Lily as they made their way down the attic stairs.

Lily nodded, "yep they sure are. I got some PJs you can try on when we go to bed and tomorrow you can pick whatever you want again."

Ginny grinned broadly and 'yay-ed'. Albus chuckled at his mother and turned to Harry who was walking silently with them.

"These are all yours Da- Harry, so the same goes for you. Whatever you like to wear," he smiled as Harry gave him a surprised look. The two boxes were big and were filled with lot and lot of clothes; he had a hard time believing they were going to be his.

"R-really?" he asked gingerly, tilting his head to the side a little.

Albus nodded, "sure, you wouldn't want to wear the same clothes all the time now would you?" Albus chuckled, but Harry didn't see what was funny in that. He usually had to wear the same clothes for a long time before his aunt gave him another set to wear. Was it wrong to wear the same clothes for too long?

He didn't dare ask; Harry didn't want to get into trouble.

Albus and Lily sat the boxes down in the second floor hall and guided Harry and Ginny to their back garden. They both had to keep reminding themselves that their parents didn't remember anything about their house and who they were and the thought saddened them a little, but at least they knew it wasn't going to last forever.

They walked through the living room, into the kitchen and out the kitchen door. Harry and Ginny looked around them, taking in the huge garden. The picnic table was just a few meters in front of them with James pulling out plastic plates and cups from the basket.

Harry thought the garden was enormous, much bigger than Aunt Petunia's garden. The grass was a fresh green covering the whole place, flower beds and trees were scattered around the edges of the garden. A shed stood on the right side near the house and he could make out what looked like six big poles with circles on top –they looked like big lollypops– just past the few trees littering the back.

Overall Harry thought it was huge and wondered how long it would take him to weed the flower beds and mow the lawn. But he hoped he got to play, he never did because his aunt and uncle never let him, especially when Dudley's friends were over.

Ginny smiled as she looked around, the garden was huge and reminded her of the Burrow. It was like a big playground for her and she noticed the Quidditch Pitch and broom shed. She wondered if she could play, none of her brothers let her and especially not her mummy. Just because she was a girl and little, didn't mean she couldn't play.

"Come on, let's get something to eat," grinned Albus and he made his way to his older brother. Lily smiled and guided her young parents to the picnic table. They were really curious, their eyes kept sweeping through the garden, taking everything in and she noticed her mother eyeing the Quidditch pitch they had hidden behind the trees and she had to suppress the grin from showing.

James looked up when he finished and smiled. Their parents looked much better in clothes that actually fit them and he noticed they looked a bit happier than before. "You look great Harry, Ginny."

They both smiled shyly up at him and he raised an eyebrow, amused. Albus and Lily looked at the spread of food and smiled broadly. Everything looked delicious and they eagerly sat down on the benches, Albus helped Ginny onto the bench and sat her between him and Lily and James helped Harry up, seating his little father next to him and opposite Albus. Harry had stiffened slightly at the touch, but not enough for James to notice.

"This all looks great, Mum and Dad really outdid themselves," commented Albus, his mouth watering at the food. He knew their dad had made the home-made pizza slices and garlic bread and their mum made the pasta salad and the potato salad. There were fruits as well, corn on the cob with butter, lemonade, pumpkin juice –ironically– and Grandma Molly's oat cookies.

"It all looks so yummy," commented Ginny and she reached out for one of the oat cookies.

"Nah ah," reprimanded Lily, stopping her and she picked up Ginny's plate and placed a pizza slice with some pasta and potato salad on the side, "you can't have the cookies until you have this," and she placed it in front of the little girl.

Ginny pouted slightly, those cookies looked just like the ones her mummy made and she only wanted to see if they tasted the same too. But her mummy always said she had to finish her meal before having something sweet, so she guessed she had to follow that rule here too.

James and Albus laughed as they watched their little mother and sister. It was funny seeing Lily tell their mother off; it reminded them of all the time they got reprimanded for having sweets before dinner.

"You sound just like mum Lily," laughed James and Lily grinned as she watched Ginny take a bite of the pizza. She made a sound of delight and she took another bite. It didn't matter what age their mother was, it seemed she would always like their father's cooking.

Soon they all started digging into the food, enjoying the wonderful taste and leaving their worries for later. They were all together, even if their parents were suddenly much younger and didn't know a thing about them. They were safe, they were all together and that's what mattered.

Little Harry watched as everyone ate, his and Ginny's babysitters were laughing and talking as they ate and little Ginny was munching on the pizza slice happily. Everything smelt and looked delicious and he wondered if he was allowed to eat any of it.

Well they hadn't told him to leave yet, the older boy did seat Harry next to him and there was a plate for him. So he hesitantly stretched his hand out and grabbed one of the sweet corns, he picked it up, placed it on his plate and looked around. Everybody's plates were full, but that was usually the same at the Dursleys too. His aunt usually gave him cheese, bread and a glass of water while she filled uncle Vernon and Dudley's plate full with yummy food, but so far no one minded he was picking up the food for himself.

The butter was running down the corn and onto his fingers, it was warm and Harry licked it off. He smiled, it tasted really yummy and he gingerly took a bite of it. The taste was great, it was so sweet and Harry happily savoured it.

"Is that all you're having Da- Harry?" asked James after he swallowed a mouthful of potato salad.

He had turned to watch his father and was surprised to find him contently eating just the corn. There was plenty of food on the table, didn't he want anything else?

Harry looked up at James cautiously, was he mad? He didn't look mad, just curious and to Harry's surprise, concerned. "Um… can I have more?" he asked.

James blinked in surprise, "of course you can." What sort of question was that? His father didn't need to ask if he wanted more, he could have whatever he wanted off the table. Maybe he was just shy; it seemed to be Harry's thing at the moment. It was quite… different seeing his father being a total contrast to his older self.

Harry smiled up at him and looked at the table, so he could have whatever he wanted? But what should he have first? He looked at the corn still in his hands and decided he should finish that first before having anything else.

"Here, do you want me to help?" asked James with a warm smile and he took Harry's plate and started loading it with everything on the table. Little Harry blinked up at James as he piled the pizza slices, pasta and potato salad, another corn and a garlic bread. James placed it back in front of Harry and gave an encouraging smile, "here you go, best eat all of it."

Harry looked at his plate piled with food in surprise. He never got so much to eat before and it all looked so good. Not forgetting his manners, he looked back up at James and gave his small smile, "thank you."

James nodded and waited for his young father to dig in before proceeding with his own plate full. He looked at his brother, sister and young mother and was happy to note they were completely enjoying the food.

Their current situation wasn't what he expected; he couldn't believe that an hour ago his parents were perfectly fine, fully gown adults, but now they were suddenly turned into children. It wasn't really something he pictured, but no one ever said being a Potter or a Weasley was ever boring. They would work everything out together.

"James, don't eat it all," scowled Albus, "that was my last slice."

James scoffed with a grin, "I don't see your name on it bro. First comes, first serves."

"How the hel—," Albus received a glare from Lily and two innocent, curious looks from his parents, "—heck were you first?"

Albus and James both grabbed for the last pizza slice and it quickly developed into a tug of war for the plate. "I eyed it first," declared James and he tugged.

"Well I said it first, that counts more," countered Albus and he tugged back.

"Who said?"

"I did. Did you suddenly go deaf?"

"What did you say!"

"You heard me?"

"Oh come on Al, I didn't get to eat much."

"You had five slices, how is that not much."

"I'm a growing boy."

"Yeah well so am I."

The little battle carried on as Lily, Harry and Ginny watched form the side-lines. Ginny was watching with amusement, the arguing reminded her of her brothers, especially Fred, George and Ron. Harry was frowning; he didn't like it when people argued, especially not over something so silly. James and Albus were brothers, weren't they supposed to get a long?

Lily sighed at her brothers' antics and smiled, she knew they were just doing it to lighten their moods, but really, over the last pizza slice? She could easily pick it up from the plate her brothers were pulling towards each other and just take it for herself. But just before she could say something, a small voice spoke up.

"Can't you share?" four heads turned his way and Harry looked at the two older black haired boys with a little frown, his green eyes bright and disapproving, but still showing hints of his shyness.

James and Albus blinked at Harry before his words finally registered in their minds and they looked at each other. Their currently situation reminded them of countless previous ones and they both couldn't help the grins to appear on their faces. It was one thing to get scowled by their fully grown adult dad, but by their six years old dad? Guess some things never changed.

Before both brothers could say anything else, a hand shot out and swiped the last pizza slice from the plate. James and Albus gaped at their sister, who grinned and pushed the whole slice into her mouth.

"LILY."

"Wha...?" Lily asked innocently, her cheeks puffed up as she munched on the pizza. "Dad said you have to share."

"But..." they attempted, but only watched in dismay as their young sister, chewed and swallowed the last pizza.

Lily hummed in delight, the last ones were always the tasty ones after all and turned to the gapping boys, "and besides ladies first remember. You two are far from being perfect gentlemen," she tsked, but smirked at her older brothers and reached for garlic bread.

James and Albus pouted at her.

"That's what Mummy always says to my brothers. Mummy wants them to be perfect genti- geni-" Ginny struggled with the word, scrunching up her nose cutely as she tried to pronounce it the way she heard it. "Genit-"

"Gentlemen," supplied Harry gently as he watched Ginny. He kind of found her attempts quite funny with the faces she was making.

Ginny smiled thankfully at Harry, "yeah genti- um that."

James an Albus turned their pouts to their parents, but they only looked up at them innocently. This was ridiculous; it didn't matter if their parents were giving them their grown up stern stares or their young childlike innocent looks, they could never win either way.

The Potter brother sighed simultaneously and dejectedly turned their heads back to the table. After a few seconds James reached out for a corn on the cob and satisfied himself with that, but Albus still looked dejectedly at the empty pizza plate.

Harry watched the older boy – Albus as he chewed on his garlic bread, he savoured the taste and couldn't help think how tasty it was. He had already finished the pasta and potato salad, the corn on the cob and one of the two pizza slices on his plate. He never got to eat food that had so much flavours bursting in it. He had to say the pizza slices were his favourite from the food he's tasted so far, maybe it was Albus favourite too.

Their Mummy and Daddy made all the food; they must have put a lot of effort into making it taste so yummy. He guessed if he had a mummy and daddy who made food for him, he would have definitely eaten and finished it all.

Harry looked down at his plate; he had his last slice and then looked back at Albus. The older boy had sighed and was pouring himself some juice, but he still looked sad.

Making up his mind Harry picked up his slice, still munching on the garlic bread and extended the pizza to Albus. Surprised, Albus looked at his young father.

Harry swallowed the piece he was eating and gave a small shy smile. "You can have mine, I don't want it."

Albus blinked and put the glass down, he smiled and shook his head, "no it's okay Da- Harry, you have it."

Harry frowned; his small hand was still raised, offering the slice, "I don't want it and I don't want to waste it."

James, Lily and Ginny were watching them discreetly as they continued to finish their plates. James and Lily had smiles on their faces as they watched their young dad.

Albus didn't take the slice, he knew his dad loved it, he could tell by how fast he ate the last one. This was so typical dad, giving something away even though he still wanted it for himself.

"Your daddy made it, don't you want it?"

Albus chest clenched at the innocent question, if only Harry knew what those words meant to them. Identical big green eyes gazed up at him unwavering and he had a hard time keeping the 'no' in. He knew that wasn't the answer his dad wanted.

His eyes flickered to his brother and sister and they both hid their grins behind the glasses they were drinking. He inwardly stuck his tongue out at them and gazed back at Harry. He gave a grateful smile and took the pizza slice, "thank you Harry."

Harry nodded and quickly looked down, finishing off his garlic bread. Albus chuckled, took a large bite of the pizza and savoured the taste; his dad's cooking was the best, coming a close second to his mums and grandmas cooking.

Lunch continued on and everyone had finished their meal. Ginny bounced on the seat, waiting for Lily to give her the oat cookie and she exclaimed happily when the older girl passed her two. She gladly took them with a 'thank you' and quickly took a bite.

Ginny hummed at the taste, "these taste just like my mummy's cookies."

Lily, James and Albus laughed and nodded. "Our grandma made them," said James.

"Your grandma makes them just like my mummy," said Ginny happily munching on the cookie.

James laughed, "Well there's no difference between your mum and our grandma."

Ginny looked at James confused, "what do you mean?"

Albus and Lily gaped at James and they both swiftly kicked him under the table, how the heck were they supposed to explain that Ginny's mum was their grandma and they were their children. It would probably freak them out or make them think they were crazy.

"OW," he glared at his young siblings, but he realised his mistake and quickly answered his young mum, "um I mean they could have the same recipes, maybe that's why they taste the same."

Ginny raised his eyebrows at him, but shrugged, accepting the answer. She really liked the cookies and she hoped she could get more.

"Okay," the three older kids sighed in relief. They quickly got up before anything else could be said and started to clear up the table.

"Why don't both of you play in the garden while we clear this up," suggested Albus as he started to put the plates into the basket.

Ginny and Harry looked at each other for a minute before nodding at Albus. Albus grinned and exchanged amused smirks with his brother and sister. Lily took two more cookies from the plate and gave them to Harry as he and Ginny got off the benches. She was surprised her father didn't ask for any, normally any little kid would be itching to having anything sweet, which was already proved by Ginny. "Here you go."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the cookies and then at Lily. He got to have two too?

Lily frowned slightly when Harry didn't take them, "come on Harry, these are yours. Don't you want them?"

Harry quickly shook his head, of course he wanted the cookies, but he didn't think he was allowed them. He never got them before, so why should he think he could now. Usually he sneaked and got some when the Dursleys were asleep and he thought he would have to do the same here, but apparently he didn't need to.

Harry hesitantly reached out and took the cookies, her hand didn't withdraw back quickly and she didn't taunt or tease him, which he took as a good sign. He gave a small thank you and Lily smiled happily at him.

"Go on," she gently nudged him in Ginny's direction and turned back to help her brother.

Harry looked at the three older teens as they worked and then back at the cookies. This was so weird, they didn't tell him to clear everything up and the girl gave him some cookies. A smile spread across his lips as he slowly made his way to Ginny, who was chewing her last cookie happily. Maybe he _might_ like it here instead.

Ginny smiled at him as he came to a stop near her, Harry blinked at her and gave a shy smile back, "these cookies are really yummy. Try it," said Ginny as she took another bite of her biscuit.

Harry looked at the smile on Ginny's face and the delight in her eyes, they must be good. He took a bite of one of the cookies and chewed. He hummed after a few seconds in delight and smiled at Ginny, who giggled.

"It's really good, Aunt Petunia can't make it taste as good as this," commented Harry and he took another bite. It really did taste delicious, chewy and sweet, it was the first time he felt full from a meal.

"My mummy makes them all the time and I help too," said Ginny, puffing out her chest a little and eating the last bit of her cookie.

Harry nodded silently and continued to eat his cookie, pocketing the other one.

"Does your mummy make them too?" asked Ginny as they started to walk around the garden, trying to find something fun to play with. Everything was all new to the two young adults turned children, so they weren't sure what they could play with and what they couldn't.

Harry shook his head and quietly stated, "I don't have a Mummy."

Ginny stopped and blinked at him. A frown appeared on her face, "how about your daddy?" she had a Mummy and Daddy, but Harry didn't have a Mummy, so he should have a Daddy.

Harry shook his head again, eating the last piece of his biscuit, "I don't have a Daddy either."

"Oh," said Ginny quietly, "what happened?"

Harry shrugged, he didn't like the frown on the little red heads face and he knew she wouldn't like his answer. No one ever did when he said it, "Aunt Petunia said they died in a car crash when I was a baby."

"Oh," little Ginny didn't really know what to say, she didn't know anyone else who didn't have a Mummy or Daddy, so she was a little lost for words.

Not wanting her to be sad, Harry gave her a small smile, "but I have an Aunt, Uncle and Cousin."

Ginny frown turned into a smile, "good," at least Harry wasn't alone. She looked around the garden, deciding to get off the topic that didn't make neither her and Harry happy. She suddenly grinned, a small giggle escaping her lips and she tapped Harry on the shoulder before shooting away, "tag, you're it."

Harry blinked at her, confused before he realised what she was doing. Ginny was bouncing on her feet, ready to flee when needed and she had a big grin on her face, excitement and anticipation in her eyes. She actually wanted to play with him?

Not sure if he understood the game or not, Ginny gave another try, she quickly darted towards him, patted his arm before darting away again, "tag, you're it."

He didn't move and continued to stare at her oddly. Ginny pouted, "Come on Harry, don't you want to play with me?"

She _did_ want to play with him, Harry grinned, "yeah."

"Then come and catch me," Ginny grinned mischievously before running off and Harry quickly followed her.

They ran around the garden, jumping and skipping as Harry chased Ginny. Ginny shrieked and laughed each time Harry got close and she would quickly dodge him. Harry ran as fast as he could whenever he tagged her, she would laugh as she chased him, calling out to him. It wasn't like the way Dudley and his friends chased him, taunting and threatening him, making him feel scared when they would finally catch up to him. Ginny would catch up to him; tag him happily, before darting in the opposite direction, encouraging him to get her. He flinched at the touch, but it would quickly diminish when he chased after her.

Both children loved the big garden, they ran and hid behind the trees, circled the shed and benches –Harry would easily jump on the bench, making a shortcut to catch her, before Ginny would shriek and exclaim loudly 'no fair' before chasing after him. Both of them were definitely having fun.

Meanwhile James, Albus and Lily had finished clearing up in the kitchen, they quickly washed up and put everything away.

"AHA!" Albus exclaimed loudly, he was standing in front of the open fridge and had just put the drinks away. He took a step back and smiled widely, he was holding a large plate with a treacle tart on it. "Look what I found."

James and Lily grinned, "Mum made her treacle tart."

They loved treacle tart, just as much as their dad. "That's great; we don't need to worry about dessert for tonight," said James happily.

"But we still got to make something for supper," said Lily as she placed the empty picnic basket in the kitchen storeroom.

"Well," Albus turned back to the fridge and searched inside. "We still got some leftovers from yesterday and Mum has made plenty of her pasta dishes." There were two food containers filled with pasta and potato salad and a bigger one holding the chicken lasagne they ate yesterday night. He placed the treacle tart back in the fridge, closed the door and turned to his brother and sister, "do you think that'll be enough?"

James sighed, he really wasn't in the mood to eat lasagne, but for today it would do. He wouldn't have minded for some more of his dad's pizza slices though. "As long as it's enough to fill five mouths I think we'll be good for tonight."

Lily and Albus nodded and sat at the table, James leaned against the open kitchen door, keeping an eye on their young parents. They could hear their parents laughing, shouting and running around the garden happily. James smiled, happy to see them at least enjoying themselves. It felt so weird watching them play together, not a bad weird, but just something he never thought he'd ever see.

His eyes trailed after his little dad as he darted across the garden. Harry was pretty fast that was for sure and it didn't look like he was even getting tired. He smiled as his young mum sped up, but was finding it difficult to catch him. It was a good thing she wasn't wearing a dress, not with the way Ginny tumbled, quickly recovered and continued with her pursuit. She didn't even cry when she fell down observed James, their mum was sure a tough kid.

"This must be so weird for them, don't you think?" asked Lily thoughtfully.

James and Albus looked at her, "what so you mean?"

Lily shrugged, her hands fidgeting on top of the table, "they think we're their babysitters, they don't even know us anymore and we're complete strangers to them now and they have to live with us. I wonder if they find this whole situation weird."

Both brothers nodded solemnly, contemplating her words, "they don't really trust us," said Albus quietly. "You saw what Dad was like when we were eating."

James frowned at that, he did notice, he saw the hesitation and the nervousness and he didn't like it. It didn't suit their dad, "yeah."

Lily frowned as well and shook her head, "he doesn't even talk that much does he, he's so... quiet."

"It's might be like you said Lily," said Albus, "he doesn't know us; it'll probably be a while for both Dad and Mum to feel comfortable around us." Albus smile at his sister reassuringly, "we just have to be patient and wait."

"In the meantime I think we should reintroduce Dad and Mum to the house," smiled James, he was upset just like his brother and sister. Their parents no longer knew them, even though it wouldn't be for forever, it still gave them an unsettling feeling in their chests. But he didn't want them to worry about it; there was no good in brooding about it now.

"Yeah, we'll give them a grand tour," grinned Lily as Albus chuckled. Lily always got excited pretty quickly, "we should get our old toys out too. I think I still got mine in my closet."

"Yeah I still got mine in my room," smiled Albus, "I bet Dad's going to love the small flying broom models I still got." He loved that set, Harry had gotten it for his seventh birthday and he'd been taking good care of it ever since. He knew his dad loved it too, he remembered how they both played and watched the brooms fly together when he was young. It would be a nice twist this time around.

James nodded, agreeing and then laughed, "We'll let them play outside for a while and then we'll show them around. They don't look like they'll want to come in yet."

Lily and Albus looked out the kitchen window and smiles grew on their faces. Harry and Ginny now seemed to be playing hide and seek. Harry stood facing a tree, his little face buried in his arms against the tree as they heard him count and Ginny was wildly running around the garden trying to find a hiding spot.

The three teenagers laughed as Harry peeked out from his arms and then quickly duck his head back when Ginny caught him and loudly exclaimed 'no cheating' before resuming her search for a good hiding place.

They continued to watch their parents play, enjoying their childishness and happy sound of glee. It had definitely been a while since they've all been together like this.

Lily turned to her older brother, "When do you think Teddy will be back James?"

"I don't know. He should be back next week. Uncle George said he'll be finishing up soon."

"I wonder how he'll react to all this," said Albus with a grin.

James and Lily grinned as well, they might not like the situation they were in, but no one said they couldn't have any fun with it.

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**(A/N) And chapter four is done **_**(grins)**_** thank you everyone for your patients and for the encouraging and wonderful reviews. I only hope this chapter earns as much reviews as the last.**

**Sorry for taking so long with the update, there is one computer and four people use it **_**(smiles sheepishly)**_** it's like a first come first serve deal here. Job hunting has finally turned fruitful for me **_**(grins)**_**, I got an interview coming up soon, so Insha'Allah (If God Will) that'll go well and plus I got braces put in last week, so that's a new chapter opened in my life **_**(laughs)**_**. Any advice for a beginner guys? **

**Now Harry is going to get along with Ginny before he gets along with the Potter siblings, there will be times he won't say anything to them and just be the obedient, quiet little child he was forced to be. Remember he wasn't allowed to ask any questions and thinks that still applies in the Potter household, so he's going to be a little reluctant to trust any adult figures. **

**Next chapter is going to be the tour of the house, sleeping arrangement and a visit **_**(grins)**_**. **

**Sorry if there were any grammar/spelling mistakes, if you have any questions about the story please feel free to ask and to everyone who celebrated Eid-ul-Adha, I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends **_**(smiles)**_**. Also hope everyone had a great Halloween and Bonfire Night.**

**Now **_**(grins happily and points down to the review box)**_** you know what to do, please review.**


	5. In This Together

**I… can't… believe… this **_**(just stares wide eyes at the amount of reviews)**_** you must be kidding… I… I can't believe… this is just so… so… I'm… I don't know **_**(bursts into happy tears).**_

**YOU GUYS ARE INCREDIBLE. TRULY. 36 reviews just for only one chapter, I never got so many reviews like this before. You cannot believe how shocked I was when I first looked at the amount of reviews the last chapter got; I got so excited that my sister thought I finally gone crazy **_**(laughs)**_**. **

**Oh wow, thank you so much for taking the time to review and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the last, I'm nervous now **_**(laughs).**_

**Now I won't keep you, here's chapter five.**

**Enjoy…**

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of Harry Potter, that's ALL J.K Rowling.**

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"Da- Harry, Ginny, time to come in," yelled Lily from the kitchen door.

Harry and Ginny popped out from behind the trees and quickly made their way to the house. Both of them had splats of dirt on their clothes and were sporting huge grins.

They raced each other to Lily and she watched with amusement as Harry would take the lead and Ginny would push herself to catch up.

They both made it to the door at the same time and Ginny cheered, "I win, I win."

"Actually I think it was a tie," said Lily and she beckoned them inside.

"That's even better," said Ginny and turned to Harry who was dusting off the dirt on his shirt. They walked into the kitchen, Lily shut the door behind them and made her way to the fridge, "you're really fast Harry."

Harry looked back at Ginny and gave a small nod, "Thanks. My cousin and his friends like to chase me around a lot."

Ginny tilted her head to the side; the expression on Harry's face told her he didn't like the game his cousin played with him. "Does he like playing tag a lot?"

Harry shook his head, "no, it's not the tag game, that was fun," he frowned, "it's called Harry Hunting and I don't like it when they play that game."

Ginny frowned. From the sounds of it, it didn't seem Harry and his cousin got on well. "He sounds like a bully," she stated without hesitation.

Harry flinched slightly at that, the last time he called Dudley a bully, his aunt had heard him and it earned him a punishment. He looked to Lily as she poured juice into two glasses. He didn't want to spend the rest of the day in a cupboard without any food. He remembered how much his stomach hurt that day. So he thought it would be best if he didn't say anything in case the older girl heard him.

Ginny blinked at Harry, her lips still turned down in a frown. Harry was suddenly so quiet; he wasn't like that when they were playing together. She liked it when he talked and laughed with her, he was really fun and creative and she hoped they'd play again. She didn't like this quiet Harry, it didn't suit him.

"You have a little dirt on your pants Ginny," said Harry as he pointed to where her leggings were covered in dirt.

Ginny looked down and made to dust off the dirt, but Lily walked up to them with two glasses filled with cold drinks.

"You two thirsty?" she asked and held out the juices for them to take, "you've been playing for nearly the whole afternoon." She couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped. She had watched her parents play while James and Albus went upstairs to sort out the boxes they had brought down.

At one point she saw Ginny marching around with a small flower pot on her head, acting too regal for a five years old and holding a long stick like a staff. Harry was running around her with his own long stick in hand and swiping and waving it about as if fighting off a big monster. She couldn't help but find the picture so cute and if she had a camera, no doubt she would have taken a picture of it.

She wondered what the sleeping arrangements would be; they hadn't decided who would sleep where. But both her mum and dad seemed like pretty independent kids, maybe they wanted to sleep in their own beds. Hopefully her brothers weren't arguing upstairs or planning on playing any more pranks.

Harry and Ginny took the glasses from Lily and happily drank the cold lemonade down. Lily looked at them and noticed the dirt and grass marks on their clothes. On a closer inspection she could see small specks of dirt on their cheeks and she chuckled gently.

She straightened up, got a clean wet cloth from the counter and beckoned her little parents to come to the table. Ginny nodded and quickly drank the rest of her juice before placing it on the table and went to stand in front of Lily who sat down on one of the dining table chairs. She was all too familiar with this; her mummy always cleaned her and her brothers up after they played in their garden. Of course she didn't think she was all that messy, not like how her brothers could get. They always liked playing near the pond; the chicken coup and the Quidditch pitch, which were the muddiest places.

Harry moved and sat on one of the chairs, still sipping his drink and watched intently. He knew if Aunt Petunia saw him come in with even a speck of dirt on his clothes, he would have definitely got yelled at and called a freak for defiling her clean kitchen. But the older red-head girl didn't look mad at their mess, she actually looked… happy? Harry definitely found her odd.

Lily gently cleaned her young mother's face, an amused expression in place. "What did both of you play? Must have been fun," she said and dusted off Ginny's leggings and shirt.

"We played loads of games," said Ginny excitedly, eager to tell what she and Harry played. "We went exploring and treasure hunting. Harry found a really big beetle and we tried climbing one of the trees, but it was too slippery and we even had a race. Harry won a lot, he's really fast."

Lily smiled as Ginny talked energetically and watched as Harry blushed and fidgeted whenever he was mentioned. Lily nodded and made the right noises at the right time, she made sure Ginny was tidy before turning to her young father.

"Wow no wonder you two are so messy, you sure had a lot of fun. I hope you were careful when you tried climbing that tree."

Ginny and Harry nodded and the little red-head exclaimed loudly, "Harry nearly made it to the top. I bet it was higher than Ron on his broom."

Lily nodded, got up and moved to Harry. He had finished his drink and was patiently listening to the two girls. He was slightly bewildered about Ron's broom, he didn't quite understand what Ginny meant by that. Maybe he could ask her later.

He straightened up as Lily started cleaning his face, but he couldn't help but flinch slightly at her touch. He felt the older girl tense for a second and he thought he might have done something wrong before the tension disappeared as fast as it came and she smiled down at him. Harry could only stare blankly up at her, trying to be as still as possible and not to make the older girl mad for any reason.

Lily quickly and gently finished up, her little father was too tense and stiff and she couldn't quite understand the look he was giving her. She tried reasoning with herself that her dad didn't know her; maybe he just didn't trust strangers. Merlin knows how many times her parents told her not to speak to any strangers when she was young. Nevertheless her chest felt heavy at that thought, she was a stranger to him. She didn't like that.

She finished up and quickly scanned his clothes for any dirt. Finding none she smiled at Harry, straightened up and moved away. She saw him relax a little and she frowned. Something about their young father's behaviour just didn't sit well with her.

"Everybody ready?" came a cheerful voice and the three occupants of the kitchen turned to see James and Albus walk in.

Lily nodded, "yep, we're all ready."

Harry and Ginny looked confused at the three teenagers, ready for what?

Albus noticed their confused faces and his face softened; this was going to take a while to get used to, "we thought it would be a good idea to give you two a tour of the house," he said, "don't want you getting lost do we."

"Is this house really big?" asked Ginny curiously. The Burrow was a big house in her opinion, they had a lot of bedrooms, but her mummy and daddy always said it was cramped. This house looked really big from the outside, she could tell because she got a neck ache from trying to see the roof of the house.

"You could say that Ginny," answered James with a grin, "why don't we start and you can tell us what you think."

Lily and Albus looked intrigued, now that would be interesting to find out what their young parents thought about their home now. Both their parents loved their house, well they loved all three of their houses. Potter Cottage in Godric Hallow being one and Grimmauld Place being the other, but both houses held memories that made their parents sad and happy.

But Potter Manor was a place that their parents loved; it held happy memories as their family started here. Their mum and dad always told them that this house held James, Albus and Lily's –and even Teddy's– first steps, their first word, their first smile, the sounds of their laughter and the memories of them growing up. Potter Manor would always feel like home to them and the Potter siblings couldn't help but agree.

Ginny nodded and Harry came to stand next to her, both of them were definitely curious about the place they were going to be staying in.

"Alright then," James said excitedly, "first off, this is the kitchen," he spread his arms out and Albus and Lily rolled their eyes at him. Their older brother could act like such a kid sometimes; it was both amusing and annoying.

"I think that's obvious James," said Albus and he turned to Harry and Ginny, completely ignoring his brother's glare. "This is where we come to eat most of the time. Sometimes we eat in the garden like we did today."

"But that's only when the weather is sunny," added Lily with a smile.

"That there is the kitchen store room," Albus pointed to the tall narrow door just near the door leading to the living room. "It's were we keep the cleaning supplies."

Harry and Ginny nodded, looking around the spacious kitchen, it was definitely a lot bigger than the Dursley's and the Weasley's kitchen. The tiles on the walls were a soft sunset orange and it made the white counter tops glow as the sun shined into the kitchen.

Harry wondered how he'd be able to find everything to cook, but assumed they would tell him and Ginny wondered where the oat cookies were hidden, maybe she could sneak some for her and Harry.

"Okay next," said James loudly, he marched out of the kitchen and in to the living room with the rest of them following.

Harry and Ginny already knew about the living room, aside from their pervious observation, they noticed the large fireplace standing on the far side of the room and what appeared to be a small pot of green powder. Harry looked at it curiously; he wondered what that was for. He also noticed the various pictures sitting on the fireplace, there were a lot of people with red hair in them and a lot of pictures of James, Albus and Lily.

But what surprised him the most was that the people in the pictures appeared to be moving. That's couldn't be right though, pictures can't move. He couldn't tell properly from where he was standing and he wanted to take a closer look, but Ginny and the others had already started moving out of the living room and Harry not wanting to be left behind, quickly followed. He could always look at it later.

They walked into the hallway, Lily pointed out the foyer. It was spacious and had various hooks on the wall near the door, holding all the coats and jackets. From the foyer, on the right was a set of stairs leading to the second floor and on the left was the hallway they were standing in.

"This way," ushered Albus and they followed the three siblings down the hallway. As they passed a door under the staircase, Harry couldn't help look at it and a shiver ran through his body. He hoped it wasn't as small as the one he slept in.

The Potter siblings re-introduced their young parents to the drawing room. It was a large circular room, the walls were white with a few scenic pictures hanging on them and the ceiling and floor carpet were a forest green colour. The furniture was scattered in the room and the huge window on the opposite side showed the trees alongside the house, there was also another fireplace, much like the one in the living room, with a small pot of green powder by its side.

Harry and Ginny curiously looked around; Ginny asked why they needed this room, they already had a living room. James smiled at her, "well our dad has an important job in the ministry," he looked discreetly at Harry who was still looking around, but turned his attention to the little red-head, "and a lot of people from his department come to our house. So this is the room he usually brings them too."

"So this is a room for visitors?" asked Ginny, James nodded.

The ministry? Harry was sure that he heard that word before, he watched as Ginny kept on questioning James. He looked at the older teenagers; they didn't seem to be anger with Ginny's constant questioning. On the contrary Harry had to smile as James, at some point failed to keep up with her questions and Albus and Lily seemed to be enjoying their older brother getting flustered by the young girl.

James quickly derailed when he lost track on which question he was supposedly answering and loudly announced that they still had more to see. Albus and Lily laughed as James good naturedly grumbled at them. Even Ginny seemed amused as she walked alongside Harry.

The next room was a study, its walls were coloured in a soft brown, tall shelves of books lined one of the walls and a long desk lined the next. A black computer sat on top of the desk and stationary tools were scattered all around the room.

"Albus," whined Lily as she saw all the scattered quills and parchments lying all over the floor and desk. She looked accusingly at her brother, who looked back at her sheepishly.

"Sorry, I forgot to clear up," Lily rolled her eyes and looked at him pointedly, clearly telling him to clean it up now.

Albus sighed, looked at his parents who were watching them innocently and proceeded to pick up all the mess off the floor. James had a big grin on his face as he watched his brother scrimmage under their little sister's gaze. But it quickly disappeared when Lily turned her hard gaze on him. He winced, it reminded him too much of their mother's disapproving look and he hated it when Lily copied her.

"Help," stated Lily. James pouted, ready to defy her, but thought better of it when she started reaching for her wand. He knew they couldn't do any magic outside Hogwarts, he wasn't worried about that. But Lily had other way of persuasion using the long stick and he wasn't too fond to find out.

"Fine," he sighed and joined his brother in cleaning up. This time it was Albus with the big wide grin as he watched his older brother and James glared at him, throwing one of the many quills and pens he picked up at him.

Lily rolled her eyes at her brothers and turned to her parents, her scowl melted away into a bright smile, "why don't you look around while we clear this up," and with that she proceeded to help her brothers.

Ginny and Harry watched them clear up. Ginny was starting to admire the older red-head girl, it's like she had the same powers as Ginny did whenever she wanted her brothers to do something. Harry wondered if he should help, but Lily did say they could look around and he was curious about the computer they had and the books littering the shelves. He never got to read as much as he wanted to.

The computer looked a lot fancier than Dudley's computer, his was large and white and missing some letters on the keyboard, but this one was thin, black, well-kept and shiny.

Ginny walked up to the computer and looked at it in awe and curiosity. Harry followed her, amused by Ginny's expression, hasn't she seen a computer before?

"What's that?" she asked as she sat on the large leather desk chair.

"It's a computer," said Harry, he didn't touch it just in case they weren't allowed.

Ginny's brow scrunched up in confusion, "what's that?"

Harry blinked at her, she really didn't know, "it a machine that you can play games and look for stuff."

"Ooh really?" Ginny's brown eyes sparkled in awe and Harry smiled at her, yes he was clearly amused. "What kind of games?"

Harry shrugged, he never got to play with the computer, but Dudley always tried to make Harry jealous by talking about all the cool games he could play while Harry only had his toy soldier.

"I don't know. Dudley always plays games on his computer."

"Doesn't he let you play on it?"

Harry shook his head and Ginny frowned, "that's not very nice of him."

Harry shrugged, he was all too used to Dudley not sharing, "he's not very nice."

Ginny remembered what he told her and stood by her earlier assumption on his cousin. He definitely was a bully.

Not liking the lonely look on the young boy's face, Ginny looked around, wanting to find something to cheer Harry up. She saw another door off to the side of the room and she got an idea. She looked at the three siblings and they seemed to be having an argument over a piece of parchment?

Ginny looked closely, James was glaring daggers at Albus, who was failing in defend himself, while Lily was sniggering looking at the parchment and getting ink stains on her hands. Ginny quickly summarised there must be something funny on the parchment… about James... and it was Albus fault.

Well they seemed pretty occupied, so Ginny got off the chair and grabbed Harry's hand with a smile. Startled, Harry quickly turned his head from the three arguing teenagers to Ginny's mischievous smile. He raised an eyebrow at her.

Ginny tugged on his hand and led him to the other door, "let's go explore some more."

"But what about…?" they walked up to the door and Ginny tried reaching up for the handle, but it was just out of her reach.

"They'll find us, it is their house after all," she tried again on her tip-toes, but she couldn't get a good grip on the handle to pull it down.

Suddenly another small hand reached up and perfectly grasped the door handle and pulled it down. Harry opened the door and smiled at Ginny. She giggled and pushed the door further open and they both stepped inside.

The next room was filled with books and books and books and books and… a desk. All four walls were covered in shelves of books. Some thick, some big, some oddly shaped and Harry swore he saw one or two move. A long desk lined the middle of the big room and one corner had a few colourful bean bags clustered around with much colourful and brighter looking books.

"It's a library," said Harry in awe, he never thought a house could have its own library. Granted it wasn't big like his school library, but he still found it pretty cool. He walked to the colourful area with Ginny closely following him.

"Do you think they read all these books?" asked Ginny as she had to strain her neck to look to the top. The ceiling had a sparkling, but small chandelier and she looked at it in wonder. They didn't have one in the Burrow; Ginny thought it must have cost a lot of money to get it.

Harry shrugged, "I don't know," he gently took a book out from the shelf and flipped through the pages. It was a child's book and the pages were covered in colourful pictures and words. If he could get the chance, maybe he could sneak a book into the cupboard and read it before going to sleep.

Ginny skimmed the titles of the books, some she recognised as the ones her daddy read to her at night and others were really weirdly names. There were thin books with hard covers called Cinderella, Jungle Book, Bambi, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and many more. What was a Cinderella? Or a Bambi? She recognised the dwarfs, but a snow white?

Well snow was white, maybe it was story about dwarfs in the winter. Her eyes went back to the first book, Cinderella. It sounded too much like an illness.

Curious, Ginny took out the Cinderella book and was surprised by the colourful blue cover. There was a pretty lady with a beautiful blue dress, a plum old woman with a wand, a pumpkin and brown mice with clothes on. Well that was definitely odd, interesting, but odd.

Ginny started flipping through the pages as Harry came up behind her and looked curiously over her shoulder. He smiled as he recognised the book.

"So you like Cinderella?" he asked.

Little Ginny jumped in surprised, she didn't realise Harry was behind her, being too engrossed by the pretty pictures. It was definitely a book she wanted to read, it looked fun. "I haven't read it yet," she replied.

Harry nodded and smiled, "it's about a poor girl and how she found her Prince Charming," well that was what he was told when he asked the Liberian. He wasn't too interesting in storied like that.

Ginny's eyes lit up, a Prince Charming? It sounded a little like the stories her daddy told her, about the boy who lived with the lightning bolt scar.

If only Harry's fringe didn't cover his forehead so much. Ginny would have definitely realised who she was talking to if she saw what was hidden there.

"Have you read it?" Ginny asked Harry as he placed the book he was holding back onto the shelf and she did the same with hers.

Harry shook his head, "no, Dudley said it was a book for girls."

Well the pictures in the book did have a lot of the pretty blond hair girl, but the way Harry looked at it told her he still wanted to read it. An unpleasant thought came to her mind, "did he make fun of you?" she asked gently.

Harry looked at her, she couldn't really understand the emotion flickering through his green eyes, but she knew she didn't like it.

"He and his friends always make fun of me, I don't like it," he admitted, looking away. He remembered all the time they chased him, played tricks on him, shoved or punched him and generally humiliated him in front of all the other kids. He hated it.

"Don't you have any friends?"

"No," came the quiet reply after a few minutes. If she'd ever meet Dudley she hoped she had a wand handy, she didn't like the loneliness in little Harry's eyes.

She stepped next to Harry and touched his arm gently. Harry looked at her, surprised by the physical contact and the cheerful, gentle smile directed at him.

"Can I be your friend?"

Harry's eyes widened, "w-what?"

Ginny's smile turned shy, "can I be your friend?"

She wanted to be his friend? They only just met, she didn't know much about him, didn't know what a freak he was and she wanted to be his friend? Her brown eyes sparkled with friendliness and sincerity and his little chest blossomed in warmth.

"Don't you want to be friends with me?"

Of course he wanted to be her friend; she was fun, creative, hyper and great to be around. If he ever thought he could have a friend then it would be someone like Ginny.

Harry nodded, his eyes brightening considerably, "yeah I want to be your friend."

Ginny's smile came back tenfold and she gently squeezed his arm. Harry returned the smile just as much.

Ginny was his friend.

"There you two are," a relieved voice came from the doorway. They turned to see James stroll into the room, "I see you found the library."

Ginny nodded excitedly and ran up to James, "James guess what, guess what."

James amused, bent down to his young mother's level with a grin on his lips, "what?"

"Me and Harry are friends," she stated proudly as if she wanted to proclaim it to the whole world.

James grin slipped into a tender smile and nodded, "that's great Ginny." They were more than just friends; they were a whole lot closer than that. _A whole lot closer_.

It just then came apparent to him, not only did their parents not know them anymore, but they no longer knew each other. Harry and Ginny Potter were husband and wife, lovers, best friends, Hogwarts sweethearts and most importantly their mother and father. But standing right in front of him were two young innocent children, shy and nervous. They didn't know how to act around them, they didn't even know them anymore and they didn't know each other.

James sighed inwardly, the more he thought about it, the more he realised that this was mostly his fault. They wouldn't be going through any of this, especially his parents, if he hadn't been so stupid enough to play that prank on Albus.

"James? Are you alright?" a tiny hand touched his arm and tugged on his sleeve.

James looked up and his mother's gentle bright brown eyes shined back at him. She had a little frown on her face, obviously sensing something was wrong.

James smiled reassuring at her and shook his head, "I'm fine Ginny, just thinking," and he straightened up.

Albus suddenly popped his head though the door, "I've finished clearing up," he informed them with a sheepish look on his face. If their adult mother had found that mess, he would have definitely gotten an earful about it.

James smirked, "took you long enough."

Albus pouted, "Well it's not my fault you got all moody over a silly drawing."

James eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "you drew me kissing the Giant Squid in the Dark Lake wearing a tutu. How'd you expect me to react?"

Albus lips turn into a humorous smile, "that wasn't you," he tried to deny, but the snicker that escaped didn't help.

James rolled his eyes and grumpily stated, "Sure it wasn't. Wait till I tell dad."

At that, both the Potter brothers' expressions sobered. Albus shuffled a little and then pointed behind him to the study. "Lily's waiting, shall we go?"

He smiled down at his parents and James nodded, "yeah, come on, let's continue with the tour." He turned to his young father who stood silently behind Ginny, "you ready?"

Ginny nodded and hurried out of the room to find Lily. Albus and James chuckled and they turned to their young dad, "come on Harry," said James as they made their way back to the study.

Harry nodded and followed, "yes sir."

James and Albus froze and Harry stopped behind them, he looked up at them puzzled. The older boys' eyes widen as they looked back at Harry in surprise and shock. Sir? Did their dad just call James…sir?

"Sir?" James licked his suddenly dry lips, "you don't need to call me sir Da-Harry."

Harry frowned; he didn't like the looks on the older boys' faces. Did he do something wrong? He looked down, "sorry," he said quietly.

James and Albus looked at each other uncertainly before they tried to put convincing smiles on their faces.

"Hey, hey don't worry about it Harry," reassured Albus and he gestured for them to leave, "why don't we go."

Harry said nothing, only nodded and they walked out of the study and found Ginny and Lily talking at the foot of the stairs.

Lily looked up and smiled at her brothers and young father, "took you guys long enough," she suddenly noticed the tense expressions her brothers had and raised her eyebrows, "everything okay?"

Albus and James nodded, but Lily didn't believe them. "We'll tell you later," said James, waving off the subject and plastered a grin on his face. "Right, next part of the tour is the second floor. Let's go."

James marched up the stairs, but before the rest could follow, Ginny piped up, "what's that door down there?" she pointed to the door under the stairs and Harry tensed.

"Oh that, that door leads down to the basement, aka our mum's office," replied Lily happily, "she writes the sports section for the Daily Prophets."

Ginny nodded and they all moved to the second floor. Harry sighed in relief, so it wasn't the place he was going to sleep. But then where was he going to sleep?

The second floor hallway was wide as the one downstairs and it stretched as far as the eye could see, well according to little Harry and Ginny.

Both sides held doors, each one decorated and coloured differently. They all started walking down the hall; the three siblings started pointing out the rooms.

"This is dad's study," said James as he pointed out the first door. There was no point in trying to open it, he knew it was locked. "We're not allowed to go in there without dad."

"How come?" asked Ginny curiously.

James shrugged, "dad's got some important stuff in there and he doesn't want us mess with it."

Albus rolled his eyes, "not after you made it rain in there and soaked mostly every important document dad had."

"That was years ago," James defended with a pout and Lily giggled.

"I still remember mum and dad's faces," she said, "they were really shocked."

"Yeah well dad was impressed," James stuck his tongue out at her.

"And you got lectured by mum," smirked Albus.

James suddenly had a put-out look, "why are you picking on me today? Give me a break, that was all accidental."

His young brother and sister only smirked and he sighed. "Moving on," and he continued down the hall.

Harry and Ginny gave each other amused looks before following, the conversation was pretty interesting and Ginny understood most of it than Harry. Harry had to admit, he was puzzled. How could one make it rain inside? Maybe James spilled a bucket of water over his daddy's work and it was an accident. He hoped James didn't get punished.

The next room was the master bedroom were their parents slept, but again James only pointed it out and didn't enter. All three Potter siblings looked at each other, they didn't really have the heart to go in there or let the young version of their parents look around.

As they continued up and down the halls, Lily pointed out the four guest rooms and Albus pointed out the bathroom (the master bedroom had its own bathroom) and the two store rooms, which were filled out with linen sheets, pillow cases, extra fluffy pillows and mattress. Ginny had asked why they needed so much when they had so many rooms already. This only made the now older Potters grin.

"Well we get a lot of family and friends around," answered Albus, "especially for the holidays and birthdays."

"How big is your family?" asked Ginny and Harry listened intently, with this many rooms so far they must have a really big family.

They smiled fondly down at their young parents, "pretty big, it can get really crowded," laughed Lily.

Ginny smiled, happy to find someone else with a family as big as hers and Harry couldn't help but feel a little envious at them, he wished he had a big family that liked him.

They came to another door and it had turquoise coloured writing on it saying 'Teddy's Room'. Again this was another door that was locked.

"Who's Teddy?" asked Harry timidly for the first time.

Albus smile tenderly down at their dad, happy that he finally questioned something, "Teddy is our godbrother, and our dad is his godfather."

"Teddy is practically our older brother really," said James.

"Our super cool older brother," said Lily, her tone a little teasing as she looked at James and Albus.

Both her _older_ brothers spluttered, protesting and she laughed.

"Aw Lily that's not fair, you can't compare us to Teddy," complained Albus.

"I'm a cool older brother too," said James and he thumbed his chest confidently.

Both his siblings stared at him, "who said?"

James gaped, looking slightly stricken. He placed a hand on the wall to support himself and shook his head in dismay, "that hurt, that really hurt."

Satisfied in deflating their older brother's ego –for the time being– Albus and Lily ushered their young parents to the next door, leaving James to mumble to his self on the wall.

"Now this," said Lily as they moved to a door that had a flower engraved onto the door, "is my room, the best room in the house."

"What flower is that?" asked Ginny.

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but Harry answered instead, "it's a lily," for some reason the flower made him smile.

The older red-head looked to her brother, her eyes twinkling brightly matching the equally twinkling older green eyes, "that's right, which makes this my room."

"Just open the door and show Mu- er Ginny and Harry your room," grumbled James as he walked up to them and leaned his back to the wall near the door.

Lily huffed at him and then opened her door. Harry and Ginny poked their heads in and looked around the spacious room. It was definitely a girl's room, the walls were painted in a pale purple colour, there was a four poster bed against one wall, a large window on another with a desk right underneath it and a suitcase lying open on the floor with clothes, books, parchment and various other things lying all over the bed.

"And you said I make a mess," stated Albus as he looked into his sister's room, "would have been better if you left the suitcase closed."

"Oh shut up, I'll get everything done," pouted Lily.

"Right Lily's room's over," said James excitedly, "next is mine." He happily took his young mother and father's hands in his and gently pulled them to the door right opposite Lily's.

"Hey, you didn't even let them look properly," shouted Lily and Albus shook his head. He looked to his parents and saw something that gave him an unsettling feeling. Their mother was fine, her hand still in James as he showed them his name on the door, coloured in bright red. Harry on the other hand was… trembling. His young green eyes were wide open, his lips pursed tightly together and his small hand trembling in James.

Frowning, Albus was about to question his young father or at least look to his siblings to see if they'd noticed it too, but James had let go of their hands and opened his door, showing them his room.

Harry's trembling stopped as soon as James let go and he withdrew into himself. Albus frown deepened, that was… wrong, for some reason that was wrong.

Why did Harry show so much tension from a mere holding of hands? Was he scared? Albus chest constricted at a sudden realisation, was their father scared of them? He watched as Ginny stood next to Harry and said something about James room. He already knew James room was a bigger mess than his or Lily's, James room was a soft red colour with a gold border running along the wall. All three of them had four poster beds and James sheets were decked out with Gryffindor colours.

To Albus's silent surprise Harry relaxed further when Ginny was near him and he gave her a smile, nodding. So he wasn't scared of Ginny, so what was that with James?

"Al?" a hand rested on his arm and he jumped slightly in surprise. He turned his head to see Lily looking at him in concern. "Al, you okay? You look upset."

"Oh um, I… it's just…" he didn't really know how to tell his sister what he saw.

Lily's brown eyes softened and she gave him a knowing look, "you noticed too."

Albus blinked at her in surprise, but nodded. Besides himself, Lily was also a very observant person, "yeah."

"Let's get this tour over with and we'll talk about it later," she said supportively and patted his arm.

Albus smiled at his sister and they joined their family as they moved out of James's room and towards the last room, which was opposite Teddy's room.

"And this is Al's room," re-introduced James, gesturing to the door with Albus name on it, coloured in gold.

"Oi oi," exclaimed Albus hurriedly, momentarily forgetting about what he had witnessed and stood in front of his door, "you two both showed off your own rooms, now it's my turn."

"Course, course," grinned James and Albus opened his door. Harry and Ginny both looked in and they giggled. Albus's room was similar to Lily's suitcase on his four poster bed, opened and with many of his possessions scattered around the floor and bed. All of their bedrooms had large windows, but only Lily and Albus placed their desks right underneath their windows and James had his opposite his bed. The walls were covered in an emerald green colour and Harry and Ginny craned their necks to look around.

James was about to step into the room, but Albus quickly stopped him, "you can't come in."

"What? Why?"

"Did you think I've forgotten about the invisibility cloak," said Albus and he crossed his arms on his chest, giving his older brother a stern look, "no way are you stepping into my room."

"Aw Al you're not still sore about that are you?" said James impishly.

"Of course I am. I'm not going to give you the chance to ransack my room."

"I won't touch anything," James feebly promised and Albus rolled his eyes.

"Like I haven't heard that before. Stay out of my room James."

"You're so up-tight you know that Al."

Albus only stuck his tongue out at his older brother and James glared at him. Ginny and Harry meanwhile had their fill of looking around Albus's room and they walked over to Lily. Lily just shook her head at them and headed towards the stairs leaving her quarrelling brothers behind.

"You've both seen the attic, so you know where that is," both children nodded, "well I guess that's the end of the tour," she said the last part loudly to get her brothers attention and they both turned to see their young sister and parents head down the stairs.

"Hey wait for us," they called and quickly followed them.

Lily smiled down at her young parents, "how about some more cookies?"

* * *

It was seven thirty in the evening… his young brother and sister were entertaining their young parents somewhere in the house and he was trying to make something to eat… with no success. Well there was plenty of food to eat, but James kept staring at the content in the fridge and the stove, sourly.

He really didn't want any more lasagne and the salad was a bit too much of a healthy option. He wished Dad had made more of his pizza slices and he momentary contemplated if he should try making them himself. But he chucked that idea out the window, he only tried to make it once and that didn't come out right and it was already late, he didn't want his family starving.

"_Guess I have no choice, got to go with the lasagne,"_ thought James dejectedly and he took out the large container of chicken lasagne and started heating it in the microwave. He could hear footsteps running about on the second floor and had to smile. That would definitely be their mum and hopefully their dad too.

He let out a sigh as he watched the lasagne heat in the microwave; so far his young father was an enigma to him. There were just so many differences he couldn't ignore and his young father calling him 'sir' didn't help.

It wasn't just Harry calling him sir; well he never thought anyone would call him sir at the age of sixteen, he wouldn't even let Kreacher or any of the Hogwarts House-elves call him sir. But it was the tone his young father used with that expressionless face that got to him. It was like the young boy was accustomed to using that word, like he was resigned to say so.

He knew it unnerved Albus as well and there was something else playing on his brother and sister's minds that got his attention. Hopefully he'll get a chance to talk to them about it.

"Need any help kiddo?"

James jumped at the voice and quickly turned around. He found his uncle George leaning against the kitchen door frame, an amused smile in place.

"Uncle George, when did you get here?" said James happily, as his uncle walked over to the table and placed a container covered with silver foil.

"Only a few minutes ago," said George with a smile, "see you're heating up leftovers."

James nodded, "yeah, there isn't much time for me to start making something else. I don't want it to get too late."

George chuckled, "well it's a good thing your aunt Angelina made her famous Lancashire Hotpot," he revealed the steaming hot dish and took out his wand to expand the container back to its normal size. It grew twice its size and James smiled broadly.

"That's great Uncle George, thanks for bringing this over."

"Not a problem Jamie. Should thank Aunt Angelina, she made enough for all of us when I told her what happened," George gave a small laugh and James grinned as he noticed the weariness in the sound. No doubt Aunt Angelina would have thought it was Uncle George's doing as well.

"Got an earful did you?" he asked.

George swatted his grinning nephew over the head, "I rather not discuss that. Now let's get everything ready. I'm starving."

George started moving around the kitchen, taking out the plates, glasses and utensils as James stopped the microwave and started taking out the side dishes from the fridge.

"Haven't you had anything to eat yet Uncle George?" asked James confused, he knew it was well past their time to eat.

"Nope," smiled George as he arranged the plates on the table, "I wanted to eat with all of you and it's been a while since I've seen your parents."

"Well they're not the same as they were before," James placed the dishes on the table and his mouth watered slightly at the smell of cooked lamb and potatoes.

George smirked, he could agree with his nephew on that. "Why don't you go call everyone, I'll finish up here."

James nodded and walked out of the kitchen to the bottom of the stairs, he could hear them running around, slamming doors, shrieking and laughing. If Albus and Lily went in his room, he'd kill them.

"OI GUYS, TIME TO EAT. GET DOWN HERE."

There were heavy sounds of running and his brother and sister, with Harry and Ginny on their backs, came running down the stairs a moment later.

"CAREFUL," panicked James, their parents clung to Albus and Lily tightly, both of them had their heads hidden in the crook of their necks.

Albus made a leap, jumping the last few stairs and landed right next to a glaring James, closely followed by Lily. "WE WIN," shouted Albus with glee, his green eyes sparkling.

"You cheated," erupted Lily, pointing accusingly at her brother. Both of them ignored James as he glowered at them, running a hand through his hair to calm himself down, "you're supposed to run at go, not at one."

Albus grinned mischievously, "You didn't say anything about running at a countdown Lils."

"There's always a countdown in a race Al, it's a rule."

"I'm not one for rules."

"In other words you're a cheater," grumbled Lily and she let Ginny down, "isn't that right Ginny."

Little Ginny giggled and nodded, "boys always cheat."

"No we don't," came Harry's voice, he was giggling too, an excited smile on his face. James was happily surprised, even though he wanted to yell at his siblings for running down the stairs with their parents on their backs, what if they had fallen and gotten hurt. But the happy expression on his dad's face stopped him.

"Yes they do, my brothers always cheat," said Ginny and Albus let Harry down. Harry quickly made his way to her.

Harry gave her a thoughtful look, "well I guess you're right."

James –momentarily forgetting about his near panic attack– and Albus gaped at their young dad, "DA-HARRY," they both protested loudly. "Don't take the girls side."

Lily laughed, "See, even Harry agrees." She bent down slightly and ruffled Ginny and Harry's hair.

Ginny giggled and Harry smiled at the little red-head. Albus and James sulked near the stairs and Lily gave them a superior look.

"Boys don't cheat," said Albus, but then quickly amended, "not all the time and girls cheat as much as boys." He had proof enough with so many female cousins and their ways of getting away with everything.

"But Dudley always cheats at games and he's a boy," said Harry plainly.

Ginny frowned and shook her head, scoffing a little, "well Dudley's a bully, bullies cheat." She crosses her little arms over her chest and had an angry look in place, believing completely in her own logic.

Harry only shrugged, but James, Albus and Lily watched them curiously.

Uncle Dudley was a bully?

"There you all are and here I am still waiting for you," came George's cheerful voice from behind them.

All the kids turned around and Albus and Lily faces split into huge smiles and Lily ran up to her uncle, enveloping him in a hug. "Uncle George. When did you get here?"

George laughed and hugged his niece back, "it's been a few minutes." His eyes then rested on his sister and brother-in-law. George had to resist the will to laugh at Ginny's curious look, her eyes taking in his colour of hair, a trademark of being a Weasley.

"And who do we have here," he said broadly, letting go of Lily and walked over to the youngest two.

Harry and Ginny watched him curiously as the older man ruffled Albus's hair, causing the boy to playfully scowl his uncle. So this was their uncle, he had a cheerful face and his eyes were brimming with mischief and amusement, but the most curious thing was his ear. He only had one.

George crouched down in front of them, "now let me guess, you must be Ginny," he pointed to Ginny, who nodded with a bright smile, "and this strapping young lad must be Harry."

Harry nodded, he didn't know about strapping but he was surprised that the man knew his name.

"How'd you know our names?" asked Ginny.

"Jamie told me," George winked at her as said nephew blanched at the childhood nickname and stuck his tongue out behind his uncle, Ginny giggled at the action. "And you can call me George, you two must be hungry?"

Ginny and Harry nodded, "yes sir," said Harry.

James stiffened at the word and he saw Albus frown as well, but George didn't give any kind of reaction to the word and only smiled at the young boy, "now none of that Harry," he said cheerfully, "I haven't reached my dear old dad's age yet and I'm rather fond of my name. What's my name?"

Harry frowned slightly, their uncle was really odd. He could never call his uncle by his name; it was always 'sir' or 'uncle Vernon'. "George," he answered quietly.

George looked at him for a few seconds before he nodded and ruffled his brother-in-law's black hair, "that's right or you could call me Georgie or Mr Holeyness," he pointed to the black hole where his left ear should have been, "or the best prankster ever."

His niece and nephews were snickering behind him as he straightened up and stood proudly. Harry and Ginny only watched curiously, their uncle was definitely funny.

"Now let's eat, I'm sure you lot must be hungry as well."

They all nodded and made their way to the kitchen, Lily and Albus were happily surprised by the food and eagerly sat in their chairs and started serving themselves. James rolled his eyes at his siblings as George chuckled and made to pick up his young sister's plate to fill it up with food, but James stopped him.

"I'll do that Uncle George, why don't you start eating," he offered after he helped his mother and father onto their chairs.

George nodded after a few seconds and gave his oldest nephew an approved nod before seating in his chair and started piling the food on his plate.

James carefully piled a little of every dish onto his parents plates, asking them what they'd like and if it was enough. Ginny thanked him favourably before digging in and Harry stared at James with a thoughtful look before giving his own thanks.

The meal went by peacefully, well as peacefully as it could get when Albus and James started integrating their uncle about the shop and how the rest of the family was doing and Lily and Ginny started talking about… girl stuff that Harry didn't really understand. It was definitely a lot livelier than dinner at the Dursleys thought Harry as he ate the delicious food, trying not to make too much of a mess and for some reason he enjoyed it.

When the meal finished, Harry tried to finish all the food on his plate, but he only managed three quarters of it, not used to getting so much to eat in one day. George collected the plates and placed them in the sink, reassuring Lily that he'll wash them up and told them all to go play with Harry and Ginny.

After using magic to clean and dry the dishes and placing them back in the right places, he joined the Potter family in the living room; but found only James and Lily in the room playing wizard chess intently. He asked where the rest were and Lily told him Albus had taken Harry and Ginny to the library, apparently Ginny wanted to read one of the Muggle books that she really found interesting and had practically dragged Harry and Albus out the door.

George shook his head and laughed a little, he forgot, his sister was definitely a curious child when she was young. Well he guessed his niece and nephews had everything pretty much under control. But he always knew they were sensible kids –when they wanted to be– and they were pretty quick to realise the seriousness of the situation, he knew he could trust James to take on the responsibility, he saw enough of it at dinner to ease any worries he had before.

Smiling, he walked over to the kids. He sat down on the couch, relaxing as he watched them play. He could occasionally give out pointers and hints to each of them and would grin widely when Lily or James would protest loudly for the help.

It was nearing half nine when George asked James to show him were Harry and Ginny would be sleeping. James nodded and he and George went upstairs and Lily put the chess set away and went to join Albus, Harry and Ginny in the library.

James showed his uncle the guest rooms which were closest to his and Lily's room and George nodded approvingly.

"I thought about mum and dad's room, but I wasn't sure," said James uncertainly.

George gave his nephew a pat on the shoulder, "don't worry about it Jamie, let me change the rooms around a little. I'll make it a bit more familiar for them."

George went into both rooms and with a few spells made the room next to Lily's a near replica to how his sister's room used to be and made the room next to James a mix of his and Albus's room. He had only seen Harry's room once in the Dursley's house and he knew if Harry had a choice it wouldn't have been as dull as it was.

He let James close the door behind him when he was finished and studied his nephew closely. He looked alright from the outside, showing his trademark mischievous grin, his brown eyes behind his glasses twinkling in the hallway light. But he knew his nephew, James wasn't the type to show any signs of distress or worry, nothing that would make anyone unnecessarily worry about him. He was much like his parents in that respects.

"How you feeling kiddo?" he asked as they made their way down.

"Fine Uncle George," replied James, his head down.

George hummed a little and then started ticking off with his fingers, "let's see both your parents have turned into children, not really one of the normal things that happen around here," that got him a chuckle from his nephew, "it's going to be a while until they turn back to normal. Both you and Al are still upset about the little prank war you both had," James opened his mouth to say something, but George stopped him, "you both are pretty good at hiding how you feel, but not that good." James gave his uncle a weary smile and George continued, "You are only now realising the responsibilities you'll be dealing with and you're learning a lot, fast."

James sighed and ran his hands through his pitch black hair, feeling a lot older than sixteen "alright, guess fine is not the word."

They stopped in the foyer and they could hear Lily and Ginny talking in the study.

"You can do this you know," said George, his voice brimming with confidence and he placed a comforting hand on James shoulder. James looked up at his uncle, uncertain. Can he? Can he take care of his family until their parents were back to normal? "You have me and Aunt Angelina to help whenever you need it Jamie and Freddie and Roxy, if they ever find out. Al and Lily are in this just as much you."

"But I'm the oldest," said James, voicing one of his worries, "I've got more responsibilities than Al and Lils. I can't let them do everything."

George nodded and smiled reassuringly, "you won't have to and I know you three are more than capable to see this to the end."

"How can you be so sure Uncle George?"

George smile turned into a cheeky grin, making his face look slightly younger, "last time I checked you were a Potter Jamie and I think Harry and Ginny know how strong and responsible you are. Don't doubt that."

James looked at his uncle and slowly a matching grin appeared on his face. Yes his parents definitely didn't raise him to quit easy or give up. He had his family with him and as long as they stuck together, there would be nothing he couldn't do.

"And like I said, I won't be that far, just a fire call away," George gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before giving him a one armed hug and ruffled his hair. They walked down the hall to join the rest of their family.

"Thanks Uncle George," said James gratefully and his uncle winked at him.

* * *

It was nearing midnight when Uncle George bid his farewell and reassured them again that he would check up on them from time to time. Everyone was ready for bed and Albus and Lily had helped Harry and Ginny choose their nightwear and introduced them to their bedrooms.

Ginny was delighted to have the room that reminded her so much of her own, she believed she wouldn't miss it as much now. She quickly changed into her night clothes and marvelled at how soft it felt against her skin. She hoped Harry liked his room as well.

Harry was different thought Ginny; he wasn't much like her brothers and like the limited amount of other boys she'd met. He was a lot quieter than Percy and Ron, his humour was hidden a lot more than Fred, George and Charlie and he had a lot of manners than Bill –if that was possible. But reflecting back as she climbed onto her bed, Harry was really creative, they had played so many different games together in the garden and she was surprised that he never played them before.

He knew a lot about Muggle things, like the computer –Lily had showed her how it worked and all the games she could play on it– and the Muggle books and the machines in the kitchen that couldn't be found in the Burrow. He was also very sweet and kind and didn't tease her like her brothers did when they would let her play with them.

She was glad she made Harry her friend, there was just something special about him and she really wanted to play with him again soon.

But at the moment she realised she was missing something. At this time her daddy and mummy would come in and tuck her into bed, with good night hugs and kisses and a bed time story. She realised, this would be the first night without her parents or her brothers.

Before she could contemplate that thought any further and probably make herself even more upset, she heard a light knock on her new bedroom door. Ginny perked up immediately as the door slowly creaked open and a mess of black hair and young green eyes poked through the door.

"Ginny?"

"Harry," she exclaimed joyfully and ushered her new friend in. Harry smiled at her and walked into her room. He still had his day clothes on, his nighties clutched tightly in his arms and he looked around her room, curiously.

He came to a stand near her bed, "I like your room Ginny," he said.

Ginny smiled, "thanks, I like it too, how about your room?"

It was the first time Harry showed her a wide and bright smile and she marvelled at how his big green eyes shined, "I love my room. I never had a room like that before."

His tone was filled with awe and joy and she wondered how his room looked like if he liked it so much, maybe it looked like his room at his house, like this one did with hers. But she nodded anyways, happy to see her friend smiling.

When remembering her own room, her thought went back to her parents and she sobered slightly. She missed them.

Harry sensing that something was wrong, climbed onto her bed, letting his legs dangle on the side and looked at his first friend, "what's wrong Ginny?"

Ginny was silent for a while before she spoke, "I miss Mummy and Daddy," she admitted quietly, her voice nearly coming out as a whine. She slipped under the covers and looked at Harry.

Harry blinked and then nodded; he couldn't really say anything to that. He didn't miss his relatives and was actually glad to be away from them, but he didn't know what it was like to miss his parents. He didn't know them so he didn't know what he was missing.

His hold on his night clothes tightened in his arms. "Why," he started, gaining Ginny's attention, "why do you miss them?" he asked just as quietly.

Ginny frowned at him for a second, remembering what he told her earlier and then smiled, "I love my mummy and daddy. Mummy always gives me a good night kiss and Daddy always reads me a bedtime story before I got to sleep. This is the first time I won't be able to say good night to them either."

Harry watched her closely and he didn't like the frown she had on when she finished explaining. He didn't have a Mummy to kiss him good night or a Daddy to read to him, so he didn't really understand what he was missing. But it looked important to Ginny, he could tell.

He tried to think up of a way to cheer her up when he noticed the frown wasn't going away from her face. He never had a good night kiss, so he didn't know how to do that and he didn't think he was a good bedtime story teller, but maybe he could wish her a good night. He'd seen Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia wish Dudley a good night every night and it didn't seem hard.

"Ginny?" said Harry and he waited for her to looked at him again, fidgeting with the clothes in his arms, "can I… can I wish you a good night?"

Ginny blinked at him in surprise and Harry quickly explained, trying to justify his reason, "it's just that I'm not a good story teller and I don't know how to give a good night kiss. But maybe I could wish you a good night," he gave her a smile, "and maybe that way you won't miss your mummy and daddy so much."

Ginny's surprised expression quickly turned to delight, "really Harry? You want to wish me a good night?"

Harry nodded, happy to see the frown gone.

"Every night?"

Harry hesitated for a second before nodding again; he could do it every night.

"And I can wish you a good night, every night too?" she asked shyly, her brown eyes wide and sparkling.

This time it was Harry's turn to be surprised. She wanted to wish him a good night too? Ginny looked expectantly at him. The eagerness and delight clearly on her young face, she really did want to.

Harry numbly felt himself nod and Ginny's answering smile made him feel warm inside.

"Oh," he made a sound of realisation; there was something else he could give her to make her even happier.

Ginny watched him curiously as he got off her bed and rummaged through his pocket for a second. The next moment Harry held the oat cookie he had stuffed into his pocket after lunch in his hand and offered it to Ginny.

"You said they taste just like your mummy's cookies," explained Harry, "you can have it if you want."

Ginny's eyes lit up and she gratefully took it, "thanks Harry, you're so sweet," and she flung herself on him, giving him a quick hug before letting go and looking at him adoringly.

Harry stood stiff for a few seconds and slowly he felt himself blush at the attention she was giving him. He never had anyone look at him like that, let alone a girl, "it's okay," he mumbled.

They talked for a few more minutes, Ginny happily devoured the last cookie and Harry watched on, amused. He decided it was time to go to bed as he and Ginny kept yawning at the same time and would end up laughing at each other.

He walked to the door, opened it and turned to Ginny who snuggled into her covers, watching him as he left.

"Good night Ginny."

Ginny gave him a sleepy smile, "good night Harry."

Harry stepped outside and gently closed the door behind him. He quickly crept to his new bedroom door, got in and closed it behind him, all the while smiling as he went. He couldn't wait to sleep in his new bed.

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"Dad called you what?" asked Lily in surprise.

Albus, Lily and James were making their way up the stairs, after making sure everything was cleared up downstairs and the doors were locked. James and Albus had just finished tell their sister about what happened in the library during the tour.

James nodded, his lips turned down a little, "dad called me sir Lils. Do you know how weird that feels to have dad call me sir."

Lily couldn't help but agree, but maybe her brother was blowing this slightly out of proportion, "maybe he said it to be polite, we are strangers to him after all" she suggested, even though it pained her to say it.

Albus shook his head, "he's a bit too polite for my taste." They made it to the second floor and unconsciously stopped outside their parent's bedroom. Their eyes drifting to the separate doors holding their sleeping young parents and back to the door were they wished they would be in.

James and Lily nodded in agreement, "it's like he's scared of us," commented Albus in a low tone, "Did you see the way he trembled when you held his hand James."

James raised an eyebrow at his brother, no he didn't notice that, "no I didn't, I guess I was just excited in showing mum and dad my bedroom without them commenting on how messy it was."

He gave them a sheepish look as Lily and Albus rolled their eyes at him. "Well he really did look scared and tense. It just didn't feel right," said Lily.

All three siblings stood outside their parent's door, contemplating, until Lily gave out a long yawn and rubbed her eyes, followed by Albus.

James smirked, "let's not think about it tonight, best be off to bed. No doubt tomorrow's going to be a long day too."

Albus and Lily nodded, but they didn't move. "It's weird," said Lily quietly as she looked at their parent's bedroom door again, "I know they're still here, but I miss them."

This would be their first night without their parents –their grown-up parents, who knew and loved them. Tonight they won't have their mum and dad come into their rooms, making sure they were comfortable and help clean up their mess before wishing them a good night with a hug or a gentle kiss to the forehead.

"Hey," said James gently and gave his young sister a one armed hug, forcing his siblings away from their parent's room, "everything will be alright Lils. They're still here and we'll make it through this."

Lily didn't say anything, but nodded at her brother, James frowned and looked to Albus for help, but Albus was just as silent as Lily.

"Hey, come on you two. We're Potters remember, we won't let this get us down. Mum and Dad are still with us, they're going to be fine and we're going to make this holiday one to remember."

Lily and Albus looked to their older brother; he gave them an encouraging and hopeful look, silently lending them his resolve. One thing they knew about their older brother was that James was always determined, he held on to what he said and even though he was a prat sometimes and an annoying prankster, he was still dependable.

"You're right James," said Albus and matched his brother's expression, "we'll make this one to remember."

Lily nodded, "We're in this together."

"That's the spirit. Now let's head to bed, I'll check on mum and dad."

They were just about to head to their rooms, when James suddenly remembered something and quickly and swiftly cuffed his sister and brother over the head.

"OWW," they cried out and turned to glare at James, rubbing their heads, "what was that for?"

James smirked and moved forward to where their parents were sleeping, "that's for racing down the stairs and giving me a heart attack."

* * *

**(A/N) Well there you have it, it took five chapters but day number one of Harry and Ginny being kids has been finished **_**(laughs)**_** I hope I didn't drag it on for too long and this chapter didn't seem too rushed, but I'm satisfied with how it turned out **_**(smiles)**_**.**

**Sorry for taking so long to update and thank you all for your patients **_**(smiles)**_**. I finally got an offer for a job, so I'm right chuffed about that, but it involves filling in a lot of forms . and I had to ransack my room to find certificates, proof of ID and all that crap that they need **_**(grumbles)**_**. **

**Now like I said Harry's going to warm up to Ginny pretty quickly before he does to the Potter kids and plus even though they're kids, Harry and Ginny will know that they are important and special to each other, so they are going to trust each other pretty quickly and I think that's something Harry will need.**

**Also James, Albus and Lily will know about Muggle stuff, as shown with the microwave and computer in the Potter household. They won't be ignorant about it like the Weasleys were. I just don't think that Harry and Ginny would have deprived their kids of any knowledge of the Muggle world, so the house is going to be a nice mix of both the Wizard world and Muggle world.**

**Next chapter is going to be the Potter's kids reaction when a six year old Harry makes them breakfast, a call to the Ministry (Harry and Ginny still had one more week before their leave) and Harry's reaction to realising magic is really real **_**(smiles broadly)**_** that's not going to go over well, I'll tell you that.**

**Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year **_**(grins)**_**. Hope everyone's safe and warm and please let me know what you think of the chapter.**

**Now like always my faithful reader **_**(grins and points down to the review box)**_** you know what to do, please leave me a review.**

**OH! OH! BEFORE YOU GO. Drawing is also one of my hobbies and I've finally got the time to work on some ideas I've had. I drew a picture of the Potter kids with little Harry and Ginny for this story and I wanted to make it a cover for the fic (like I did for my Naruto fic), but the picture is too big XD. I'm going to put up a link on my profile if you want to take a look, it's on the Deviantart website, user name is Paradise-san786 _(grins)_. It's titled 'Parents-Sitting the Potter Family'. It's not great, but hope you like.**


	6. Unsettling Discoveries

**You guys have completely blown my mind **_**(stares at you all in disbelief)**_** there's only 5 chapters, well 6 now and this story is already over 100 reviews. I never thought this story would reach so many reviews, favourites and follows so quickly **_**(smiles)**_**. **

**You guys are AWESOME, thank you so much for taking the time to review; I loved reading each and every one of them and thank you to everyone for your patients **_**(smiles)**_** it really is appreciated.**

**Now, here's chapter six, enjoy…**

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of Harry Potter, that's ALL J.K Rowling.**

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Light had flooded his room in the early hours of the morning and it beckoned him to come out of his slumber. But he didn't want to, he still felt tired.

He groaned as he tried to fall back asleep, but it wouldn't come and he noticed he was feeling hot as the warm light heated up his room.

James groaned again and buried his head further into his pillow. He didn't want to get up yet; he didn't _feel_ like getting up yet. It didn't even feel like he had a full night's sleep.

He had fallen straight to sleep when his head hit his pillow last night and he couldn't recall what he had even dreamt about. Sighing, he flipped onto his back and stretched. He shuddered a few minutes later and relaxed.

What time was it? James turned his head to the side and squinted, trying to read the time on the electric clock he had on his night stand. After a few seconds he gave up and grabbed his glasses.

Putting them on, his eyes widened. It was nearing eleven in the morning… and he still felt tired? Normally he was full of energy and ready for the day and yet he didn't want to get out of bed? Weird. Albus or Lily didn't even come into his room to bother him like they usually did every morning. Weird again and slightly worrying.

James blinked up at the canopy of his bed; he could smell breakfast being made as the aroma drifted into his room. He sighed at the smell and closed his eyes, egg, bacon and toast. He wondered if his mum would make him some pancakes if he asked.

The sudden thought of his mother quickly remembered him of yesterday's events and his eyes shot open. That's right, his parents were turned into little children and now they had to take care of them until the potion wore off.

James quickly looked at the time again and quickly bolted out of bed, "damn, damn, damn, damn." He continued to curse under his breath as he quickly found himself a fresh pair of clothes and changed.

Why didn't he set his alarm or something? He could have gotten up and had breakfast ready for everyone by now. Who was making breakfast? He hoped Lily or Albus didn't mess up the kitchen or end up burning it down. He couldn't smell any tell-tale signs of smoke, so hopefully they were alright.

He finally yanked on his jeans and struggled with getting his arms into the sleeves of his shirt, all the while quickly making his way to the door. "Stupid shirt," he grumbled and finally got his arms through.

He grabbed the door handle, pulled it open and walked into the hallway. He fixed and smoothed down his shirt, running his hands through his messy hair. The delicious smell of breakfast wafted through the air intensified and James stomach grumbled.

Wanting to quickly get downstairs to help his siblings, he closed his bedroom door and was about to head down when the door opposite his opened and a fully dressed, but still slightly sleepy Lily walked out.

Lily looked at her brother in surprised, but smiled, "morning," she greeted.

James smiled, "morning Lils. You got up now?"

"Yeah," she looked a little sheepish, "I was really tired for some reason," she said and came to stand near him.

"Well we did have a busy day yesterday and went to bed late," said James, "I was surprised you didn't wake me up, you're usually an early riser, even if it is the holiday."

Lily shrugged and blinked a few times, trying to get the tiredness out of her eyes. She was more of a morning person than her brothers and usually she had the honour of waking them up alongside their mother. But this morning she had taken her time getting out of bed and getting dressed, it still felt so surreal for her that their parents were actually little children and she wouldn't get to see her father's eyes brighten whenever he saw her or her mother's loving kisses on the forehead and delicious breakfast.

Thinking of breakfast, Lily raised her eyebrows at her brother, "I thought you were making breakfast James."

James shook his head, "and I thought you were, Al must be downstairs."

Lily nodded, if it wasn't her or James than it must be Albus. She looked towards the two doors near hers and James, "do you think mum and dad will be awake?"

James eyes drifted to the doors too and his chest tightened, "don't know." Flashes of their dad's innocent and guarded eyes looking up at him curiously and their mum's open smile and bright eyes coursed through his mind. For some reason the day suddenly felt very daunting, he remembered his talk with Uncle George, he felt confident enough to see everything through, but yet he still felt that uncertainty.

Lily's eyes went back to her brother and she was surprised to see him looking serious. It wasn't often she saw that look on her fun loving and mischievous older brother's face and honestly it unnerved her sometimes.

She placed a hand on his arm, bringing him out of his thoughts, "you okay?" she asked when he turned his head to her.

James blinked at her before smiling reassuringly, "sure I am, just thinking."

Lily didn't believe him, like their father she could easily sense or tell what a person was feeling. For Lily she was mostly in tune to her brothers. She could tell when her brothers were distressed or upset, one look and she knew something was wrong or they had a lot on their mind. But she never forced them to tell her anything if they didn't want to and most of the time it was stuff she could really do without knowing.

"Well don't think so much, it doesn't suit you," she teased.

James pouted at her and then ran his hand through his hair, giving his sister a superior grin, "well actually I've been told I look quite handsome when I'm deep in thought. Girls just love to know what I'm thinking about."

"Yeah when you're deep, deep, _deep _in thought," said Lily airily.

She quickly moved away when James tried to swat her over the head. She giggled at the look her brother gave her and straightened up.

"I'll have you know girls want a lot of James, they can't get enough of me," he said trying to inflate his ego.

Lily scrunched up her nose disdainfully at that; but she couldn't deny that girls didn't swarm all over him or Albus. The only difference was that Albus shied away from them while James took it all in stride. Her brothers had gotten to that age where puberty had already hit and they had developed height, muscles and an abundance of the Potter charm.

This meant girls at Hogwarts got interested and attracted and who best to come to than Lily Luna Potter, the youngest Potter and the only sister to the Potter brothers. She had lost count of how many girls had come up to her and asked her if her brothers were single, what were they like? What type of girls were they into and if she could introduce them to her brothers? And so on and so forth.

Now she didn't mind it at much... first, but now it had become increasingly easier for her to recognise and look for the signs of what girls were really after. Some didn't really care about her brothers, just the name attached - Potter.

So now she appointed herself as her brothers 'protector' or something along that lines. Her mother had told her she was just as overprotective of her brothers as her uncles had been with her when they were all in Hogwarts. Even though her brothers could be annoying pricks sometimes, she didn't want them to get hurt.

"Well that's something I really don't want to know," said Lily plainly and she walked to their mum's bedroom door. "I'm going to see if mum's awake."

James nodded and followed Lily's example, going to their dad's bedroom door, "I'll get dad up, I'm sure they'll both be hungry. Hopefully Al will have everything ready when we get down."

Just as Lily and James were about to open the bedroom doors, another door opened making them stop and turn and they gaped at what they saw. A tired looking, fully dressed and wet haired Albus walked out of the bathroom. He ran his hands through his hair and then shook his head; making droplets of water fly everywhere.

Albus sighed and stretched, the cold water had helped a little to wake him up, but he couldn't wait for breakfast. Hopefully James or Lily have woken up earlier than him. His green eyes roamed through the hallway and they suddenly meet his sibling's surprised gaze, his own eyes widened in return.

Albus shut the bathroom door and walked a few steps towards them; they continued to stare at him in shock. The aroma of breakfast wafted through the air and all three people who could possibly make breakfast were on the second floor hallway, looking at each other in disbelief. If they were all here, then who was making breakfast downstairs?

"What?" questioned Albus as his siblings looked at each other before turning back at him.

"You were in the bathroom," said James slowly, it came out more like a statement than a question.

Albus nodded, suddenly looking worried, "I took a quick shower, but I thought one of you two were downstairs."

Lily shook her head, "No I woke up now."

"So did I," said James, he turned his confused and suspicious gaze from his young brother to his little sister. Lily understood and they quickly turned the handles, pushed open the doors and looked inside.

The bedrooms were empty, no sign of their mother or father. Harry's covers were neatly in place while Ginny's were hastily thrown off. Lily and James turned back to each other and shook their heads.

"Dad's not here."

"Neither is mum."

"If mum and dad are not in their bedrooms, then does that mean they're the ones...?" Albus trailed off, pointing a finger gingerly towards the stairs as he looked at his brother and sister in disbelief.

Without a second thought, all three Potter kids jumped into action. They raced down the hallway, down the stairs, into the foyer, through the living room and came to a stop at the kitchen entrance. They froze and gaped at what they saw.

Harry stood on a stool at the cooker, high enough for him to reach what he was doing and standing to close for their comfort. The heat was already on; bacon sizzling away on the pan as he gently flipped them. A pile of toast was already on the table, buttered and with jam sitting on the side. Scrambled eggs and cooked bacon were already laid out on four plates sitting on the table and one was already being devoured. Ginny sat at the dining table, watching Harry keenly as she chewed on her toast.

They both turned their heads when James, Albus and Lily practically ran into the kitchen and both young children smiled brightly at them.

"Morning," greeted Ginny, finishing the toast and started on the bacon eagerly.

The Potter kids slowly walked in, "morning," they automatically greeted Ginny back.

James eyes quickly returned to their father who had returned back to the sizzling bacon over the hot pan and was proceeding to tip the bacon onto a plate. His heart gave a painful leap as he saw their young dad's arms tremble from the weight of the pan and he quickly moved forward.

"Harry, what are you doing?" his voice came out in a near panic. He took the handle of the pan from his father, turned the heat off and placed the pan on the cooker.

He quickly looked over the young boy, who in return was watching him in surprise and if James had looked any closer, he would have seen hints of fear there as well. But all that coursed through the older teenagers mind was that their six years old dad—not their fully grown, responsible, sensible, adult dad who cooked breakfast as much as their mum did— had made the breakfast and judging by the smell and appearance of it, a nicely cooked breakfast. That did not sit well with him.

How did his dad learn to cook at such a young age, six was not the appropriate age to learn cooking. "Are you okay? You didn't burn yourself did you?" he picked up his young father and gently placed him on the floor.

Harry watched the oldest black haired teenager nervously, did he do something wrong? He only wanted to make sure breakfast was ready before they came downstairs and he also wanted to thank them for the really comfy bed he got to sleep in. He couldn't remember the last time he slept in a warm, soft bed before. He thought he'll make a good impression of himself to his babysitter and hopefully they wouldn't be mad if he did anything wrong.

But the older boy didn't look happy, he didn't look mad either, but he had obviously done something wrong if the older boy had stopped him from doing what he knew.

Harry shook his head and looked down, "sorry."

James raised an eyebrow at him and looked to Albus and Lily who were at the table watching them. They both had concerned looks and he knew they found the concept of their six years old dad making them breakfast quite unsettling.

"Hey, hey," James couched down, gently cupped Harry's chin with one hand and guided his eyes back to his, "no reason to apologise Harry. I was just worried; I didn't know you could cook."

Harry looked at James closely, but didn't say anything. He was trying very hard not to flinch away and he was slightly puzzled by the boy in front of him. So he wasn't mad at him?

"Harry's cooking is really good," commented Ginny gently as she hopped off the table and came to a stand near Harry's side. "The bacon is just as tasty as Mummy's." Harry smiled at her.

Albus and Lily looked at each other then at the four plates on the table. They each took a strip of bacon and popped it into their mouth. Albus and Lily were surprised; it tasted just like how their adult dad cooked it, perfectly cooked, not too burned nor too raw and just as tasty. It was a simple breakfast, but it was well made.

"This is just like how Dad cooks it James," said Lily slowly as she finished chewing her bacon.

Albus walked around the table and crouched beside his brother, "when did you learn how to cook Harry?" he saw his father squirm timidly under his and James scrutiny and gently added with a smile, "Ginny's right, it's really tasty."

Harry quickly racked his brain and tried to remember when his aunt had started forcing him to wake up early and prepare breakfast for them. He could remember his aunt telling him to stop being so useless and start earning his keep. He ended up burning the food or getting himself burned a lot and his Aunt Petunia always yelled at him. "When I was four," he stated quietly.

All three Potter kids froze; different degrees of shock etched onto their faces as they looked at him with wide eyes.

Four? Their father learned how to cook at the age of _four_. That couldn't be right, who in their right mind would let or even teach a four years old child to cook.

Albus licked his lips, "who-who taught you Harry?"

"Aunt Petunia," answered Harry innocently, his big green eyes showing hesitance and uneasiness.

Their great aunt? Their grandmother Potter's sister? Their father had told them that he had lived with his aunt until he started Hogwarts and then he just went home for the summer holidays. Their father had spent so many years with the Dursleys and they made him cook at the age of four.

"A-aunt Petunia taught you how to-to cook when you were four," disbelief and shock coloured Albus's voice.

Harry only nodded; he couldn't quite understand why they were getting upset. Ginny's brow furrowed with confusion, she couldn't really understand the emotions flittering through the older children faces, but one look at Harry and she knew he was finding them staring at him uncomfortable.

"I help my mummy cook all the time," she reasoned. She helped her mummy make deserts and cookies and even got to wash some of the vegetables and fruits to make dinner. Her mummy never let her use a knife or anything pointy, telling her it was dangerous or she could hurt herself and she mostly watched when her mummy used magic to get the food done quicker. But Harry did use a knife; he even knew how to work the cooker and even cracked the eggs gently. Ginny tried it once, but hers broke quickly.

She had wanted to help Harry when she came into the kitchen to find him rummaging through the cupboards looking for the pan and some bowls. He had looked surprised when she asked him, but he only smiled at her and told her he was used to doing it himself. She had frowned and insisted a lot until Harry finally gave in and asked her if she wouldn't mind setting the table.

But as soon as she finished, he filled up her plate with eggs and bacon and asked her to taste it. He told her he wanted it to taste really good for their babysitters because he wanted to say thank you for the nice bed and clothes. Ginny thought it was a good idea, her mummy always told her to be polite –even though her brothers weren't at time– but Harry wouldn't let her help until she finished her breakfast.

"I still want to help you make breakfast Harry. Mummy always tells me never to make anything in the kitchen alone and always have her or daddy with me."

Harry only nodded at her, but didn't say anything. His aunt Petunia never said that to him and he was grateful that Ginny wanted to help.

James was having a hard time processing this, maybe it was because he was still tired or he was running on an empty stomach. But his six and five year old parents wanted to _make_ breakfast themselves; he couldn't even toast bread at that age, forget about scrambling eggs or cooking bacon.

It unsettled him and he could see the difference in his young parents. Ginny was just offering assistance and he knew what type of assistance she meant. Their adult mother and grandmother always let him, Albus or Lily help in the kitchen if they wanted to and the most they did was lick the chocolate off the spoons or do some easy mixing.

Harry on the other hand had just made a full meal, one that looked and tasted as good as it smelt. This much knowledge for six years old was unheard of and just not right.

"Da-Harry," started James, "when did you wake up? Do you usually make breakfast?"

Young green eyes looked at him with uncertainty and James was afraid his dad wasn't going to reply. But after another second of silence, Harry answered, "I woke up when the little hand was on the seven," he really wasn't good at telling time yet, but he knew a little about it, "and Aunt Petunia always wakes me up early to make breakfast."

"B-but you're only-only six Harry," said James desperately, trying to understand the casual way his father answered his questions. He should be upset for waking up so early, especially to make breakfast for someone else. Harry shouldn't even _know_ how to make breakfast. "Why does Aunt Petunia even want you to make breakfast? That's not right."

Harry was frowning now. So they didn't want him to make breakfast for them? He was being useful, he was trying not to be a burden to his babysitters and cooking meals was normal for him. He didn't want them to think he was a freak, but looking at the older teens expressions, they didn't look happy with him.

He looked down, avoiding everyone's eyes, "Aunt Petunia said I have to be useful," he stated quietly.

Useful? James, Albus and Lily's heart clenched painfully at the quiet answer. They looked at each other, each of them silently communicating their discomfort and distress at the current topic. A seed of disgust was starting to grow for their great aunt. This wasn't right; this wasn't the answer they wanted to hear from a six year old, let alone from their dad. The way their dad acted and behaved wasn't right.

Harry squirmed at the silence and Ginny frowned at them. They weren't being nice, she didn't really understand what was going on, but all she knew was that Harry was trying to say thank you and they were ruining her friend's efforts. "Why are you so upset?" she demanded James and Albus suddenly, looking very angry.

The two brothers jumped a little at their mother's angry tone. Brown and green wide eyes swerved to young brown and Lily slowly came to a stand near Albus. They all looked at her with confusion and concern.

"Harry just wanted to say thank you," she said and stepped closer to Harry. They all saw Harry visibly relax when Ginny's shoulder touched his. "You're all being mean," she stomped one of her little bare foot on the kitchen's cold floor and pointed accusingly at the brothers.

The three now older Potters gaped at Ginny for a second before their eyes landed back on Harry. Harry was smiling at Ginny; gone was the nervousness and the discomfort. His face shone with amusement as he watched his new friend. Ginny sure was a lot different from any of the other kids he knew and he was glad for that.

"You- you wanted to say thank you?" asked Lily gently. Their six year old father wanted to say thank you by cooking them breakfast?

Harry looked back at them, then quickly ducked his head and nodded.

"Why?"

"For taking care of me, for the nice clothes and the nice bed," he admitted, after a few seconds of silence.

They just continued to stare at him, trying to understand. Little children usually said thank you by giving drawings of scribbles and stick people with excessive amount of glitter to their loved ones or a hug or a sloppy kiss, _not_ by cooking them a meal and feeling obliged to do so.

James looked at his siblings before addressing their dad, "H-Harry, you really didn't need to cook breakfast to say thank you, you know."

Harry quickly looked up at him, his green eyes cautious. He didn't? "Really?"

All three of them shook their heads, "of course not. You're only six Harry," said James desperately, wanting his young father to understand. "A grown up should cook meals, not a little kid."

Harry tilted his head to the side, "but Aunt Petunia said—"

"Aunt Petunia is wrong," said Albus quickly, a shot of anger coursed through him. "It isn't right that she's making you cook stuff."

"It isn't?"

All three of them shook their heads again. Harry's caution was still there, but a little flicker of hope was starting to rise in his chest. However he still didn't like the upset looks they had on, "are you mad?"

The Potter kids were surprised by the question and even more so by the tone their young father used. It sounded vulnerable and timid and –their hearts clenched– too familiar, it's as if this wasn't the first time Harry had asked that question.

It rang warning bells in their heads.

"Never Harry," breathed out James. His father looked so vulnerable and small, all he wanted to do was just gather him into his arms and hug him. It definitely looked like he needed it, but James didn't know how this version of their father would take it.

Harry looked at him for a few seconds before giving a small smile. It wasn't convincing, he couldn't truly convince himself that his and Ginny's babysitters would never get mad at him. His aunt and uncle always got mad at him, but here, in a new place with new people, maybe he show them he can be a good boy.

"So no more making breakfast by yourself okay," encouraged James, "if you're hungry in the morning or any other time in the day, just ask one of us and we'll make you whatever you want, okay."

Harry looked at him slightly bewildered and surprised. They actually wanted to make something for him? He could ask them? They wouldn't get mad? He turned his head to look at Albus and Lily and they both nodded their heads and smiled, completely agreeing with their older brother.

"Okay, Harry?" prompted James again.

"Okay," he said quietly. That answer didn't satisfy them, but they let it be.

James gave his young father a tender smile and straightened up, "good, now come on, let's eat. I'm starving."

Albus and Lily smiled and followed their brother's lead.

"When are you not starving?" commented Albus light-heartedly, trying to lift his brother and sister's mood. He knew this new discover of their father will weigh heavily on their minds; he definitely knew it will on his, but he never was one to leave anyone in a gloom, especially his family members.

Lily gave a little giggle as James stuck his tongue out at his brother and said, "When I'm full. Now get in your chair and eat."

Albus rolled his eyes and didn't hesitate to help Harry onto one of the chairs; Lily helped Ginny into her seat as well and refilled her glass with juice.

James quickly served a plate for Harry, who sat in the same place he sat yesterday and noticed he didn't have a plate in front of him. James frowned at that, Harry had prepared food for everyone else, but not for himself?

"Here you go Harry, eat up," James placed the plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, making sure his little father got plenty of everything.

Harry mumbled a 'thank you' and cautiously started eating. He looked around to everyone, watching as they chatted to each other and ate heartedly the food he prepared. The Potter siblings commented on how good the food tasted and smiled at him. He felt himself blush at the praises; he never got them from his relatives. Most of them time they didn't even let him eat with them or give him enough food that matched their own plates. But he liked this; just like how he liked the lunch and dinner they had yesterday. His babysitters were nowhere near like his relatives and he was both happy and cautious about that.

Ginny had already eaten when the Potter kids came in, so she was the first to finish. She waited patiently for Harry to finish eating his meal. She had left her chair next to Lily's and slipped into the one next to Harry's.

Harry was a little surprised, but grinned at his new friend nonetheless. She quickly struck a conversation with him, telling him about all the things they were going to do today and explore the house some more and he happily agreed. As soon as Harry finished his meal, she practically dragged him off the table and was about to head out, when Lily stopped them. Lily quickly finished her juice and commented on Ginny's lack of shoes and that she needed to change her night clothes. Harry had already changed, but he had no problem being dragged upstairs with his friend and Lily so they could get ready.

Albus and James had rolled their eyes at their sister and quickly finished up their own breakfast. They started clearing up the table, quickly washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. They noticed their father didn't make a mess of everything, everything looked like it was carefully done and it both impressed and unnerved the two brothers.

How could a six year old be so capable in the kitchen? Why on earth would their great aunt Petunia feel the need to teach a six year old to cook meals? Wasn't she capable to do it herself? The more the two brothers thought about what their father told them, the more warning bells rang in their heads.

Albus finished putting the dishes back into the cupboard and James dried his hands with a clean towel.

"Well this had been a successful breakfast," stated Albus weakly and he turned to his older brother.

James sighed, he knew what Albus was talking about, but it wasn't easy to accept, "it was successful because our dad cooked it."

Albus frowned, "yeah, our six year old dad," he looked down and ran a hand through his hair, "our six year old dad," he spoke softly as if saying it enough times would help make it more sense. But it didn't and he knew it shouldn't. A six year old cooking meal didn't make sense and it never should.

James looked up at his young brother and he saw the frown playing on his lips, the worry and suspicion in his pure green eyes. He didn't like it, it didn't suit Albus. He knew brooding about it wouldn't help anything, it never did, it just made everyone worry and fret and angry and that was the last thing he needed from his brother or sister.

James was about to say something when a sudden hoot echoed in the kitchen and an owl swooped in through the half open window and settled itself on the table edge. Both brothers turned to look at it and they immediately recognised it as one of the Ministry's owls.

The owl hooted and stuck out its leg with the letter attached. James quickly took it off, thanking the owl and Albus quickly found some Knuts in the cupboards and paid. It gave another hoot before flying off and out the window.

Albus turned to his brother and watched James look at who the letter was addressed to.

"This is for dad," he said and Albus leaned in to take a look. Written in ink was their dad's name, James turned the letter over and they both recognised the seal stamped on it.

"This is the Minister's seal," said James, tracing a finger over the melted seal.

Albus's eyes widened as he realised something and he groaned, "oh no."

James looked up at his brother and was surprised to see distressed green eyes linking to his. "What? What's wrong?"

Albus groaned again, "don't you remember what Dad said; he still has another week before his holiday starts."

It took a few seconds before confused brown eyes matched distressed green, "Dad's supposed to be at work today."

"Yeah, grown-up Auror Dad, not six year old kid Dad," said Albus and he grimaced. Their dad couldn't go to work; no way was an Auror department suitable for a six year old. This was not good.

"Mum was supposed to go in today too. She was telling me about an article she had finished and needed to give it in to be published," groaned James.

"What should we do?" asked Albus. It's not like they could go in and take their parents places for a week in their departments. He looked at the letter in his brother's hands and hesitated, "should we… should we ignore it?"

James shook his head, "we can't, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt's seal Al. What if it's important? I think we need to let him know what's happened."

Albus eyes widened again, "we're going to tell him that Dad and Mum can't come into work because they've been turned into little kids."

James nodded, grimly, "we have to Al. we have to be the responsible ones now. Mum and Dad could get into trouble if they don't show up."

"Is he even going to believe us? What if he thinks we're playing a prank James?" telling their Uncle was one thing, but telling the Minister of Magic was a whole different story.

James looked at his brother and he saw the worry and distress there. Pushing his own worries to the side, James smiled reassuringly at Albus and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Al. He'll believe us and if he doesn't, we got proof. I'll show him the potion bottle and explain everything. You don't have to worry about anything."

Albus looked at his older brother, seeing the determination and reassurance there. It wasn't often he saw James being so responsible and comforting. He was always so mischievous and fun-loving, always after a laugh or a moment of laziness. His responsible side only came out when he needed it to and this was the longest he ever saw James like this and with a sinking feeling, Albus knew it was his fault.

If he hadn't been dumb enough to swipe that potion from Uncle George's shop and spike the Pumpkin juice, then James wouldn't have to worry and take all the responsibility of everything. If only he just accept his brother's apologies, none of this would be happening.

Albus's shoulders slumped and he nodded. The hand on his shoulder squeezed gently, the reassurance and comfort still there and Albus couldn't help but lean into his brother's touch.

"Hey," said James softly, "I'll make sure you won't get into trouble about this Al, nothing will happen."

Albus shook his head; he wasn't worried about himself. "I don't care James; I don't care if I get into trouble." _I'll deserve it._

"I'll do all the talking, I'll… I'll explain everything, I'll—" continued James.

"You're not doing this alone," interrupted Albus and he looked determinedly up at his brother. He's the one who got them into this mess; no way was he letting his brother face this alone. "If you really want to see the Minister of Magic then I'm going to be there too."

James stared at his young brother and he could see the determination set in those emerald green eyes and he knew there was nothing he could say to change his mind.

"Are you sure?"

Albus nodded, "You're not doing this alone. We're Potters remember."

This time James smiled and chuckled, yep they were Potters and they stuck together. James squeezed Albus's shoulder again and nodded and Albus was happy and relieved to see James's eyes lighten up, even if it was a little.

Suddenly three sets of feet thundered through the living room and into the kitchen. They saw Ginny race through the kitchen towards the kitchen door, clutching Harry's hand in hers and chatting happily as they both raced out the door and into the spacious garden. Lily quickly followed them and stopped at the door, shouting out, "be careful and don't climb anything you know you can't."

Albus and James raised their eyebrows at that and Lily laughed at their expressions when she turned and look at them.

Then she saw the letter, "who's that for?" she asked curiously and walked over to them.

James and Albus quickly explained everything to their sister and Lily, though worried, agreed with her brothers. She quickly went to their mother's office and found the article their mother had written and gave it to James, who would give it to Kingsley.

They asked Lily to watch their parents and James and Albus made their way to the drawing room. Deciding that it would be best to get this over and done with today than tomorrow, it would be one less thing to worry about.

* * *

It was half an hour later and the brothers were still sitting in the drawing room, trying to gather their courage to Floo to the Ministry. Not that they didn't like Kingsley Shacklebolt, he always made time to come down and have dinner with the Potter family and he was one of their mum and dad's closest friend and had been a great ally during the war.

They thought he was a pretty cool wizard and their father always told them how strong and power he was, even more so when he was an Auror. So they couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by him… okay well not a little, a lot, but that didn't help what they going to do now.

"Maybe we should break it to him real quick," suggested Albus, "you know like a bandage. Just rip it off."

James scoffed, "do you really think that method's going to work with Kingsley?"

Albus looked down at the sheets of parchment James gave him and sighed, "Why don't we just tell him that mum and dad are sick and can't come in for the rest of the week."

James raised his eyebrows at his brother, "well for one, that would be lying, two, it would never work with a sixteen and fifteen years old telling the Minister of Magic their parents can't come in to work today. Three, we'll definitely get caught and four I think Kingsley would know mum and dad would personally call or go in themselves to say they can't come."

Albus sighed again; his brother had to choose now to be the voice of reason and sense. He got up from the armchair and started pacing, "alright fine, that won't work."

They knew they were being ridiculous, heck they even felt ridiculous. Here they were trying to come up with some reasonable way to explain to _the_ Minister of Magic, once a formidable Auror and close friend to their parents that because of them, their parents, the famous Harry James Potter and the once number one Quidditch player Ginny Molly Potter were now reduced to giggling, nervous little children.

Yep that conversation was going go well. They were idiots, cowardly, gutless idiots.

Another five minutes passed and they listened to Ginny and Harry playing in the back garden with Lily.

Albus hands suddenly clenched tightly. That's it, no more pacing like old person. The faster they got this over and done with, the better. With determined steps, Albus walked over to the fireplace, he grabbed a fist full of the green powder and turned to look at his older brother, gauging if he was ready. James nodded and without giving himself time to realise what he was doing, Albus threw the powder into the fireplace.

The fireplace roared to life as James got up, the potion vial and letter clenched firmly in his hands. He walked to his little brother and gave Albus a pat on the back before stepping forward, "I'll go first."

Albus nodded and James stepped into the fireplace, stated the destination in a clear voice and he vanished. Taking a steady breath, Albus listened to his family playing outside for a few more seconds and with a firm resolve, followed after his brother.

He made sure to tuck his elbows in, keeping his mother's article safe in his arms and waited for the right fireplace to appear. He tumbled in right next to James, who quickly caught him before he fell.

James gave a little laugh, "you're still not used to that are you?"

Albus grumbled and straightened himself, "I still prefer flying."

They had arrived straight into the Minister's main reception, Kingsley and their dad had made sure if anything happened, they both could quickly arrive within the heart of the Ministry and the Potter Manor. They knew their father's study had a fireplace and it also was connected to the main reception and office of the Minister.

"May I help you gentlemen?" asked a feminine voice from the far side of the room. Both brothers turned to see a woman sat at a desk and looking at them sternly.

James nervously cleared his throat and he and Albus walked up to her, "we're here to see Minister Shacklebolt please. It's really important."

"Do you have an appointment with the Minister?" she asked, but it looked like she already knew the answer to that.

"No we don't," said James reluctantly, "but could you plea—"

The woman raised her thin eyebrows at them and shook her head, "I'm sorry, but the Minister is busy at the moment. You won't be able to see him today without an appointment."

"Please ma'am, this really is important," said Albus desperately. He really just wanted to get this over with and he knew, with the way James was fidgeting, he didn't want this woman to stop them. "Our parents—"

The woman just gave them a stern look, her eyes narrowing disdainfully at them and cut him off, "without an appointment, I'm sorry boys you won't be able to see him, now please, escort yourselves out."

James and Albus narrowed their own eyes at the woman and stayed put. What was wrong with her? They were trying to tell her something and she just kept interrupting them.

"Look miss," said James, his voice lacing with frustration, "we're not leaving until we see Minister Shacklebolt. This is really important," he saw the woman open her mouth and he quickly continued in a loud voice, "it's regarding this letter we got this morning." He held up the letter showing the Minister's seal, he held it back so the woman wouldn't take it. "I know the Minister wrote this himself, you won't have any access to this seal. So please just let him know that we're here. We can wait."

Before the woman could say anything to that, the large mahogany doors a few feet away from them opened up and Kingsley Shacklebolt, dressed in royal blue robes stepped out.

"Darcy could you please send these to— James? Albus? What are you two doing here?" asked Kingsley in his deep voice, surprised to see the Potter brothers standing in his reception without Harry.

Even though they knew the man wasn't going to like what they were going to tell him, they were nevertheless relieved to see him.

"Sir," Albus quickly answered, "I know you're really busy and we apologise for disturbing you, but please, we have something really important to tell you."

Kingsley raised an eyebrow at him curiously and looked to the oldest Potter child. James looked at him urgently and grimly and then he noticed and recognised the letter the boy was holding. His eyes then narrowed.

"That was for your father," he indicated to the letter.

James nodded quickly, "it's regarding our father sir. Please sir, can we speak to you, it really is important."

Kingsley, tall, proud and intimidating, stared at them critically and they fidgeted. Both brothers saw the concern flicker through his dark eyes for a second before he nodded and gestured to his office. "Very well, please follow me."

"But sir, there is a meet—" said the woman, Darcy, as she got up.

Kingsley held up his hand to stop her and shook his head, "its fine Darcy. It can wait; please carry on with what you were doing." he turned back to the Potter brothers, "this way boys."

James and Albus quickly followed, but they couldn't help but stick out their tongues at Darcy who glared at them in return.

Kingsley closed the door behind them and he gestured for the boys to sit, but both Albus and James declined. They just wanted to let Kingsley know what happened and why their parents can't come in to work for the rest of the week.

Kingsley could see the tension in the young boys' stances and his own body tensed. Whatever the boys wanted to tell him, he knew it wasn't going to be good news, especially if Harry wasn't here to tell him himself.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me James?" asked Kingsley as he walked over to his desk and sat down on his chair. The two boys neared his desk and looked at him solemnly.

Albus looked at his brother and James gave him a sideways smile before addressing the Minister. He held out the letter for Kingsley to take, "firstly I believe it's best for you to take this back sir." There was no way he could put that anywhere in their house other than their dad's study and that was currently under lock and key or wand.

Kingsley took the letter and looked it over before placing it on his desk, "this was meant for your father, has he read it?"

"He can't sir," said Albus softly. There was a lot his dad could do, but couldn't now.

Kingsley raised an eyebrow "what do you mean? Is your father alright?" there was concern in his voice, he had last seen Harry a day before the weekend and he seemed perfectly fine.

James and Albus squirmed, here came the difficult part, "dad's fine sir, but not in the way you'd think."

Before Kingsley could ask, James held out the potion vial and the older man took it. He looked it over and quickly recognised it as one of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes products. He had heard of this supply and knew that there were some major glitches to it and was currently going under trial and error. He gave the vial back to James.

"You see sir," started James and waiting for Kingsley to look at him before he explained everything that had happened.

James didn't break eye contact with the older man and his voice stayed steady and calm when he told him that his father and mother no longer remembered anything other than their six and five years old memories and it would take up to two to three months for the potion to wear off. He tried his best to not show the uncertainty and fear in his voice.

Albus stayed silent, letting his brother take over, he too kept his eyes on the older man, but couldn't help lean in a little into his brother. He wanted to let James know he was still here, giving his older brother his support and comfort. He smiled subtly when he felt James lean into his touch and quickly concentrated back on the Minister, who was growing stiffer and quieter with every passing second.

"… So you see sir, I'll be really grateful if you could notify the Department of Magical Games and Sports and Law Enforcement to let our parents annual leave start now."

James finished with a gentle sigh and watched the older man, waiting for his decision. He knew the Minister couldn't do anything to help his parents, if Uncle George couldn't, and he invented the potion, than he didn't expect much from Kingsley. He just wanted to make sure his parents didn't get into any trouble for their children's mistakes.

Albus swallowed thickly and waited for Kingsley to speak, the man had brought his elbows to rest on the desk while listening to his brother. His hands were intertwined together in front of his face, his expression blank. Albus still felt the tension in his older brother's body and he didn't like it. He let himself lean into his brother completely, this time not caring what the Minister would think. His brother was taking responsibility for his mistake and he be damned if he left his brother alone to face whatever was coming.

A few more seconds passed by before Kingsley sighed and his eyes focused on the two brothers standing determinedly in front of him. This situation was a surprise and by the boys' words and appearance, appeared to have been all a big mistake.

"I see," stated Kingsley, "I will of course let Mr and Mrs Potter have their leave now, in this situation it is unavoidable. I will notify their departments and I believe their leave can be extended."

James and Albus sighed in relief and let themselves relax.

"Our- our parents won't get into trouble will they?" asked Albus cautiously.

Kingsley shook his head, "no they won't. It is not their faults and from the sounds of it I don't think this is what both of you wanted to happen."

Albus and James sobered and shook their heads; this was definitely not want they wanted to happen. It was just supposed to be a silly prank, a harmless, silly prank.

"But I do hope you both realise the seriousness of this situation and understand the consequences of the decisions you've made. If it had been anything else you could have caused your parents more harm than good. Intentionally or unintentionally."

"We do sir," said James softly and Albus nodded. "We just want our mum and dad to be alright."

Kingsley let his face soften. The young boys were going to have a lot of responsibilities thrust upon them soon and there was little he could do about it. But maybe…

"It would be best if you follow George Weasley's instructions and take care of your parents. It is not my responsibility to give out any punishment over this situation; I'll leave that to your parents." James and Albus nodded gravely and could hear the disappointment in the older man's voice.

"I know the wards around your home are strong and unbreakable, your father made sure of that. But it would be best if they were reinforced in case someone wanted to come and cause any harm," these sort of things weren't unheard of; there had been many burglaries in homes that didn't have much defence. Of course the Potter manor was an exception, but Kingsley didn't want to take any chances, especially when the Potter family was in such a weak state, what with both fully trained witch and wizard out of commission. But he might have a solution for that.

James and Albus eyes widened at that, they didn't realise that security could be a problem for them as well. "Could- could that really happen?" Albus's voice shook, he felt sick. Someone could actually try to hurt his parents in that state.

"It is a possibility. Something we can't rule out and seeing as both of you and your sister are still underage, protection should be placed," said Kingsley gravely. He wasn't one to sugar coat anything; he needed the boys to understand how deep this could run.

James placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and Albus looked at him fearfully. How were they going to protect their parents if they couldn't do any magic outside of Hogwarts. James gave his little brother a reassuring smile, even though he felt an extra weight shift onto his shoulder, he didn't want his brother to feel disheartened.

"Does anyone else know of your parent's predicament?" asked Kingsley gently.

James shook his head, "other than Uncle George, Aunt Angelina and you sir, no one else knows."

Kingsley nodded, "it would be best to keep it that way. I won't inform the departments on what's exactly going on, the less who know the better. But I think it would be wise to add some more protection."

The Potter brothers stared at him, more protection? "What do you mean sir?"

The Minister crossed his arms over his chest, "I believe it would be best to station an Auror in your home in case anything would happen. Your father would want to make sure nothing happened to his children if he wasn't able to protect them."

Albus and James looked down, that was just another thing added to the pile of guilt.

Kingsley sighed as he saw the boys' crestfallen faces; he got up out of his chair and walked around it to stand in front of the two brothers. He placed his large hands on their small shoulders in a comforting manner.

"I know you lads will be fine," his deep voice was encouraging and light. James and Albus looked up at him, uncertain, "your father always speaks very highly of both of you and I don't believe you want to prove him wrong."

Brown and green eyes lightened at those words, "No sir."

Kingsley smiled at them, "good. Just remember, help is here if and when you need it. Do not hesitate to call me or your Uncle George until the Auror arrives."

James and Albus nodded and smiled, it was rarity to see the soft side of the Minister of Magic.

"Can we know who the Auror is going to be sir?" asked James.

"You'll find out when he arrives, he is currently on his way back from a mission. As soon as I brief him on what's going on, he will stay at your home until your parents are back to normal."

"Can we trust him?" asked Albus. They would practically have a stranger walking around in their house and Harry and Ginny were only now starting to get used to them. Would an extra unknown person unsettle their miniature turned parents?

Kingsley gave a small smirk and nodded, "you can. Now you boys' best be going back. You two are the men of the house now… well until your father turns back to his normal self."

They both gave small nods; they were practically itching to get back home. Before he could forget, Albus held out the papers for Kingsley to take, "this is the article mum wrote that's supposed to be published with the next print. Could you please make sure this gets to where it needs to go, sir?"

Kingsley took the papers and nodded, "I will. Now off you go."

"Thank you for understanding and for the help sir," said James sincerely before he and his brother walked out the door.

Kingsley nodded and motioned for them to leave. James and Albus exited the office and quickly made their way to the fireplace. Before they left, they couldn't help but make faces and stick out their tongues at Darcy when she wasn't looking.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent entertaining their parents when James and Albus returned back from the Ministry. Lily had waited anxiously for them to return and practically tackled her brothers with questions when they came back.

They had quickly explained what had happened and that an Auror was going to be staying with them until their parents were back to normal. Lily wasn't happy about that, their parents already thought they were strangers, how where they going to deal with another stranger. But she knew it had to be done, especially when they explained the dangers that could befall their parents.

They had missed lunch as none of them were hungry because of the late breakfast they had. But Lily had brought out the last of the oat cookies for snacking on.

Harry and Ginny spent most of their time outdoors, frequently joined by James, Albus and Lily. Harry couldn't believe how much fun he was having. He was never allowed to play this long outside without doing some chores and he definitely never had a friend to play with. They played so many games, some he only heard about and saw other children play. He never knew he could get to play any games or play pretend with anyone.

Ginny was so hyper and creative, her imagination knew no bounds. One minute she pretended to be the queen of a rock –to her it was a big castle— and the next she was zooming across the garden as if she was being chased by a herd of monsters. She never left Harry alone for more than a few minutes, always tugged on his arm, always holding his hand to guide him somewhere and always smiling and laughing with him. It was the most attention he ever got and it was the good kind.

He watched as James, Albus and Lily joined in, laughing together, making jokes with each other, being silly in the many games they came up with. They even gave him and Ginny piggyback rides and Harry couldn't contain the joy when he sat on strong shoulders, his arms stretched in the air as James ran around the garden, the wind whipping at their black hairs and Albus with Ginny on his back and Lily chasing after them.

All three teenagers were fun to play with; they teased each other, playfully wrestled each other and most of the time Lily made her brothers do whatever she wanted. At one point she made them play her loyal servants in Ginny's game of Princesses, it was really funny to watch and even though the older brothers groaned and grumbled most of them time, Harry didn't think they minded as they smiled and laughed along with their sister.

He was jealous; he couldn't help but feel jealous. James, Albus and Lily acted more like brothers and sister, like a family than Dudley and the Dursleys ever did with him. Ginny always chatted about her brothers, there wasn't a time where she didn't remember something or another about her brothers and enthusiastically talked about them. Harry didn't have brothers to talk about, sisters to play along with and pamper. There were times he truly felt lonely at the Dursleys, long hours in his cupboard would give him plenty of time to fantasize about his own family, with his own brothers and sisters.

He couldn't help but feel jealous, but then Ginny would come, running to him, smiling at him, spoiling him with all her attention and the older children would join in. James and Albus would ruffle his hair; tickle him when he was within arms reach, Lily would gently smooth down his clothes, dusting off any grass and dirt and most of all they would all smile at him, grin at him, make him want to burst with laughter, make him want to smile till his face split.

And yet he would still flinch at their touches, he would still tremble at their closeness and he would notice the frowns that played on their lips, the brief flashes of disappointment and surprise at his withdrawal. He would wait for them to tell him to stop playing, to stop smiling, to stop laughing and to stay away from them because he was a freak.

He tried not to get too excited or too sad; he knew odd things happened when he got too happy or angry and he couldn't stop them, things just happened and it was always his fault. He didn't want the older teenagers getting mad at him, so to avoid that he stuck close to Ginny because Ginny was his friend, she wouldn't get mad at him.

Lily and Albus had made tuna, egg and ham sandwiches around late-afternoon and they had all gathered at the bench and ate the food heartedly. James made sure there was a plate full of sandwiches in front of their young dad and all three teens encouraged him to dig in. Harry had managed to eat one whole sandwich and drank a full glass of juice. James had even brought out the treacle tart and was happy to note both their parents loved it. Ginny ate her full slice and Harry only managed half, he couldn't eat more than that, even if it did taste like the most delicious dessert he ever had, he just was too full; he never had so much good food in a day before.

Ginny had finished her full plate and drank her juice before quickly joining Harry and she suggested going to the study and library, the late afternoon air was getting chilling. Harry had agreed and Albus joined them. Lily and James quickly cleared everything up and cleaned the dishes.

Albus came back after half an hour to help his siblings, informing them that both their parents had curled up on the bean bags and were reading some of the children books. Smiling, they all finished up and retired into the living room. They discussed a lot of things together; the protection around the house, the extra precautions they could take, what they could do to help Harry and Ginny be more comfortable around Potter Manor before the Auror arrived, but mostly it was what they observed in the garden.

Their father's behaviour was becoming too suspicious, it was only their second day as kids and they were discovering too much for their comfort. The constant flinching, the constant fear in his eyes when one of them reached for him, the cautiousness, the distrust, the confusion when they did or said something completely normal or nice to him. It's as if he never heard those words directed at him before.

"Dad's completely fine around Mum. But whenever we come anywhere close to him, it's as if… it's as if…" Albus struggled to finish his sentence.

"It's as if he's scared of us," ended James softly. He couldn't get those big fearful green eyes out of his mind. Their mother's warm brown eyes were comforting, natural joy and happiness radiated off them and _that's_ how they were supposed to look on a young child. But their father's green eyes were weary, cautious, distrusting, as if they were going to do or say something that he was waiting for. It wasn't right.

"Dad lived with the Dursleys for most of his young life didn't he, what could have made him like this?" question Lily thoughtfully. The more they thought about their father, his behaviour, his attitude, the more they could see a complete contrast from their older, normal, loving father.

James frowned, his brown eyes darkening, "whatever it was, I don't like it. They made him cook guys. _Cook_," he said the word with distain, "when he was just four. What moronic idiot makes a four year old child cook," he practically hissed out.

Albus and Lily clenched their fists tightly, agreeing completely with their brother.

"Do you think Dad will tell us about the Dursleys if we asked him?" suggested Albus, after a few minutes of silence.

"If it's anything like being useful enough to cook than I don't think I want to know," said Lily and she buried her head in her hands. She was fearful with what they might find out, but she doubted they had any choice about it. "Why can't Dad be more like Mum? Mum seems a lot happier."

"Dad's happy too Lils," said Albus soothingly, he rubbed his little sister's back and Lily silently relished in his comfort, "he's just a lot happier with Mum than he is with us." That caused all three of them to frown.

James shook his head, "no, Dad and Mum are always happy together, happy with us around, all of us together. This is Harry and Ginny, this is just Harry Potter happy with Ginny Weasley. His friend, we're not his friends," James looked to his siblings, his expression and voice troubled and they stared back at him, equally upset.

Little kids made friends easily and that's what exactly happened with Harry and Ginny, but they weren't little kids. They couldn't gain that sort of trust and friendship so quickly. For whatever the reason Harry just didn't trust anyone older than him.

Lily suddenly straightened up, surprising Albus, "well I think it's time we made him see that we could be his friends too," her brown eyes bore into chocolate brown and emerald green eyes. "If becoming a friend with Dad makes him happy, then I want to be his friend too." Her voice was brimming with encouragement and hope. She wanted their father to open up to them like he did with their mother, to know that they could be trusted too. She wanted to see a real, happy, _genuine_ smile from their father, one that she saw every day, one that she didn't know how much she missed until now.

Albus smiled at his sister, "that's not a bad idea."

James nodded slowly, "yeah, and maybe we can get Dad to open up to us more."

"But what can we do?" asked Albus and he turned to Lily; "you're the youngest here Lils, any more ideas?"

Lily gave her brother an irritated look, "so just because I'm the youngest from the three of us, I have to have the more child-like brain."

Albus blinked, "what? No I mean—"

"You're only two years older than me Albus, you're still practically a kid," said Lily, crossing her arms over her chest.

This time Albus pouted, "No I'm not. I'm basically in my mid-teens. You're the one who just got into your teens."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the baby teen."

The word 'baby' made Lily's eyebrow twitch, "I'm WHAT?"

Albus's eyes widened, quickly realising his mistake. One of the many things Lily didn't like and that was being called a baby, any other nickname was fine, but anything with the word 'baby' in it just meant a world of hurt for the person who said it.

"Nothing, nothing," said Albus quickly, bringing up his arms in defence, "you're nothing."

"Ugh, I can't believe you called me a baby," said Lily angrily and Albus started to inch away from her.

"I-I didn't mean it. Honest, it just came out," Albus looked to their brother for help, but James was only grinning, sitting comfortably in the armchair. "James," he whined desperately.

James only grinned further and watched as Lily advanced on Albus, who quickly got off the couch and tripped to get away from their sister. "Sorry bro, you should have known better."

Lily pounced on Albus and Albus made a dash for it, running around the living room with Lily closely following him.

"Get back, Albus. I'll teach you who's the baby," yelled Lily.

"Aw come on, Lily. I was just kidding, it was a joke. Can't you take a joke?" Albus yelped as a cushion connected with his head and he nearly tripped.

Lily took that chance and she jumped on her brother. They both tumbled onto the floor and Lily quickly stationed herself on her brother's back. She placed both her hands under Albus's underarm and Albus started to fidget.

"That's not fair, Lily," said Albus frantically, knowing what was coming, "it was just a joke."

"You should know the punishment for calling me a baby, Albie," countered Lily and poked her brother, making him squirm.

James gave a laugh at the old nickname and Albus groaned, he tried to get his sister off, but she was securely planted on him.

"You ready, Albie?" taunted Lily.

Albus's eyes widened and he renewed his efforts to escape, "Lily, don't you da—"

Lily didn't let him finish and promptly started scribbling her fingers along Albus's sides and her brother burst into laughter. She grinned as he struggled and squirmed under her, he couldn't do much on his back and she alternated between his sides, underarm and neck.

"L-Lily, s-stop," laughed Albus, he tried to get up, but Lily wouldn't let him.

"No way," Lily struggled a few times staying on top of her brother's back. It was like sitting on a jostling ride, but she loved the sound of her brother's laughter and she grinned.

"Who's the baby? Who's the baby?"

"M-me, m-me," shrieked Albus.

"I can't hear you? Who's the baby?" she changed her hands back to his neck.

"L-Lily, s-st-" he dissolves into fits of giggles, "s-stop. I'm t-the b-baby," Albus struggled to speak between the laughter.

"Aw Al, you gave up too quickly," commented James lightly as he moved to the couch to watch his siblings closely, enjoying their laughter and grins.

"J-James, HE-HELP," he desperately reached out for his brother, but couldn't help but spasm into a laughing fit again.

James only laughed, "Sorry little brother, but no way am I getting in Lily's way."

"TR-TRIATOR."

James only laughed again and Lily gave out a giggle, she continued her torture and only stopped when she started to see Albus's eyes water. She let go and Albus quickly scrambled away from her, nearly toppling Lily off.

He stopped at a safe distance –on the opposite side of the coffee table— and tried to calm his breathing down, "that was… so n-not… fair," he tried to scowl at his little sister, but it came out weak as he was smiling too much.

Lily only shrugged as she got up and giggled, "It's not fair you called me a baby, now were even."

Albus shook his head and collapsed on the carpet, "I don't… want to go… through that… again."

Lily and James laughed and James turned to Lily, "want to play chess?"

"Sure."

* * *

It was nearly eight when all three kids noticed the lack of noise coming from their parents, so after James thoroughly beat Lily and Albus in chess, they went to check on their parents.

Their face softened and tender smiles graced their faces at what they saw coming into the library. Litters of books were scattered around the floor near the colourful bean bags, some still open and both Harry and Ginny were curled up in their own bean bags, fast asleep.

"Awww," Lily cooed, "they're so cute."

Harry was curled up on his side, a closed book tucked under his chest; his messy hair flopped over his eyes, his mouth opened a little as he evenly breathed in and out. Ginny was lying on her back, a book resting on her stomach, her bright red hair fanned out around her head and a small smile gracing her lips in sleep.

Lily quickly walked up to them and cooed at the adorableness of her parents. James and Albus chuckled gently and joined her. They quickly cleared up the books, carefully picking them up and making sure not to make too much noise.

"They must have tired themselves out. They've been awake since seven this morning," said James. He placed the last book on the shelf and joined Albus and Lily, who were kneeling near their parents.

Lily and Albus nodded and they both reached out and gently brushed their parent's red and black hair away from their eyes.

"They look so peaceful," said Albus and he gently ran the back of his fingers over Harry's soft cheek. To his surprise Harry leaned into the touch and gave a small sigh. Albus looked to his brother and sister and they smiled at him.

They had discussed many ways to try and help their dad become more comfortable around them and maybe help him realise they could be his friends too and it seemed Harry wasn't pervious to touches after all. They only assumed he wanted them, but didn't know how to ask for them.

"Come on, we better put them to bed," said James and he bent down and gently picked up Ginny. She mumbled and squirmed a little in James hold, but settled. Albus did the same with Harry, who practically melted into Albus's embrace and settled his head on the older boy's shoulder.

They all walked out and Lily closed the doors behind them, making sure to turn off the lights. As they started walking up the stairs, their movements must have been too much as both Harry and Ginny started squirming and opened their sleepy eyes.

Ginny lifted her head up from James chest and looked around, "where we goin'?" she asked sleepily.

Lily chuckled, "we're going to your bedroom. You fell asleep downstairs."

"Wh're Hawwy?" Ginny's speech was a little slurred with sleepiness and she tightened her grip on James's shirt.

They all reach the top landing and Albus walked closely with James as they continued their way to their parent's new bedrooms. He turned, showing a sleepy Harry with half lidded eyes, watching them. Harry gave a sleepy smile to Ginny. "He's here Ginny," said Albus softly.

Harry looked up at Albus, "sorry for fall'n asleep downstwairs."

Albus only smiled at Harry, his, James and Lily's hearts clenching at those words, "you don't need to say sorry Harry, it's okay."

Harry gave a sleepy nodded and turned his attention back to Ginny. Before James and Albus parted to go into the bedrooms —Lily had quickly opened the doors for them and turned on the lights—Harry lifted his head off of Albus's shoulder, "Goodnight Ginny," he called.

Ginny waved her little hand at Harry and smiled, "goodnight Hawwy."

Harry gave a small giggle and Ginny and James disappeared into her bedroom, Lily following after them so she could help Ginny into her sleeping clothes.

Albus walked into Harry's room and gently sat him on the bed, "Let's quickly get you changed hmm." He ran a hand through Harry's messy hair and was happy to note he didn't move away, but Harry looked so tired, Albus supposed he didn't have the energy to.

Harry gave a small nod and rubbed his eyes with his tiny fists. Albus bit his lips; Harry just looked too cute doing that. He quickly turned away before he started cooing like Lily and found his dad's night clothes and gave them to him. Harry managed to change his clothes himself and Albus hovered close by in case he needed help.

Albus picked up the covers and Harry clumsily crawled in and settled down on the pillow, his eyes growing heavier and heavier. Albus spread the covers over Harry, he was about to say something when he noticed his dad had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Albus gave a fond chuckle, tucked him in and smoothed out Harry's dark messy hair. He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on his father's forehead. He remembered how many time their dad and mum kissed them goodnight and this was going to be the second night without them there again. It was hard getting used to.

"Goodnight Dad," said Albus softly and he slowly got up and made his way out. He gently closed the door behind him and joined his brother and sister in the hallway.

"Dad tucked in?" asked James, Albus nodded with a laugh.

"He fell straight asleep as soon he got into bed."

Lily grinned, "So did mum."

James smiled and started walking back towards the staircase, Albus and Lily followed him, "today wasn't so bad." Even the meeting with Kingsley and discovering and realising a few things he never really gave any thought to, he still felt today went just as good as yesterday. But to be honest though he was still pretty worried.

Albus and Lily nodded absentmindedly, "we learned a lot," said Lily.

"Yeah, like how dad likes to say thank you by cooking breakfast," commented Albus jadedly.

His siblings sighed as they made their way downstairs, "speaking of breakfast, I don't think it's wise to carry on like we did today," said James gravely; Albus and Lily looked at him questionably. "We need to wake up early; we can't keep having breakfast so late and then miss lunch. We only had two meals today with a bit of snacks in between. This is not going to be good for our health if we carry on like this."

Albus nodded and Lily sighed, "Just another thing mum and dad do for us that we don't notice."

Both her brothers looked at her and then looked down, she was right. Their mum and dad made sure they had plenty of food to eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner. They always woke them up so they wouldn't miss anything. They were always there greeting them, smiling at them, looking at them with love and care and now they wouldn't have any of that for a long while.

They walked into the living room and James made a beeline for the kitchen, he suddenly craved more of the treacle tart. The images of little Harry and Ginny devouring the dessert, humming happily from the taste and their big eyes brightening from tasting something so sweet, he knew he loved watching them enjoying themselves. He wondered for a moment if that's what he, Albus and Lily looked like to their father and mother. Did their parents enjoy watching them take pleasure in what they made for them? Of course they did, it wasn't a hard question. Their mum and dad always wanted them to be happy.

He took a slice from the fridge and offered some to his siblings who sat on the table, each with a glass of juice. They both declined, but smiled when James shrugged and took a large bite. They all sat in silence, each in their own thoughts.

"How much more do you think we're going to learn and are not going to like it?" asked Lily after a few minutes.

James shrugged and Albus frowned, "whatever we'll learn, we'll deal with it together," said James. He didn't know how many times he was going to say that, but he believed in it wholeheartedly.

"_I just hope we're ready for it,"_ thought Albus solemnly.

* * *

They weren't.

"You're going to love this, Harry, Ginny," said Albus excitedly as he and Lily placed three boxes in front of their young parents.

They were all sitting on the floor near the fireplace in the living room, it was late morning and James had given the idea of finally getting their old toys out. He had managed to get up early and make breakfast before his family came down. They had helped Harry and Ginny into new clothes –but as usual Harry didn't ask for any assistance— and they watched them happily as they showed off what they were wearing to each other.

"We got so many, bet you're going to have a lot of fun with them," said Lily with a smile, "we definitely did."

Ginny grinned and got onto her knees and shuffled her way to one of the closest boxes, Harry stayed were he sat and watched curiously. Albus and Lily opened up the boxes and James leaned over one of them and smiled at what he saw.

"Hey, I loved this thing, I used to play with this all the time," James took out a toy train, an exact replica of the Hogwarts Express. He remembered how it chugged around the room, even doing small loop-de-loops in the air, he wondered if it still worked.

A squeal quickly distracted him though, he looked up from the train and watched as Lily showed Ginny her old toy house, it was taller than their little mum and white and blue in colour. It had many windows and small balconies on the second floor and Ginny quickly fell in love with it. James found it a little ironic, it was the same toy house their mum had gotten Lily and Lily had squealed just the same way.

"We can put this in your room, Ginny and I think I got the dolls in here too," Lily rummaged through the big box and grinned as she pulled out three dolls.

"Can we play with it now?" asked Ginny excitedly, she never thought she'll get to play with such a big toy house, it was even better than the ones she saw in Diagon Alley.

Lily giggled, "sure, but I bet you'll love the rest that's in here," she coaxed her mother teasingly and Ginny quickly had her head back in the box to see what more she could find.

James grinned along with Albus and they both turned their heads to Harry. Harry sat crossed legged just behind Ginny, smiling at her excited face and eyeing the doll house curiously. James and Albus looked at each other and grinned before pouncing forward towards their dad.

Harry jumped a little as they sat next to him and Albus dragged the third box in front of them. "Want to take a look inside, Harry?"

Harry looked at Albus in surprise, "can I?" his small voice was cautious, but hopeful.

Albus nodded, "of course you can," and proceeded to take the toys out one by one.

James watched as Harry's bright green eyes started to light up as each toy was pulled out. There were stuffed animals, toy cars and trains, board games, building blocks, Quidditch action figures and Albus's favourite, the Quidditch pitch with miniature versions of two Quidditch teams. The figures all lay on the small field, ready to start flying as soon as one of them was touched. He wondered if it still worked as well, it has been a very long time since they last played with them.

Harry crawled forward and picked up one of the stuffed toys, it was a big, soft, furry, black dog. He ran his hands through the toy's fur and marvelled at its softness and texture. A small smile appeared on his lips and he hugged the toy to his chest. For some reason it made him feel a little giddy, "can I play with this one?" asked Harry timidly to James.

James grinned, "Yeah that used to be my favourite when I was little. Yo- um my dad got it for me."

Harry nodded and petted the dog, running his hands over the back of the dog's fur. It really was soft and fluffy.

"Here Da-Harry, do you want to play with this too?" asked Albus excitedly and he showed Harry the Quidditch pitch.

Harry looked at it curiously, it wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before and it kind of reminded him of a little football field. But this was different, it was a lot bigger, had small figures lying around on the floor with brooms clutched tightly in their hands.

"What- what is it?"

James and Albus blinked at him, didn't their dad know? "It's a Quidditch pitch, Harry," answered James.

Harry blinked up at him and then back at the toy, he fidgeted slightly, "um… what's that?"

They blinked again, so he didn't really know, the two brothers looked at each other. Well their dad was raised by Muggles and they usually didn't know much about Quidditch. But it was still a surprise, they knew their dad was a big fan of Quidditch, what with him being the youngest Quidditch player in Hogwarts, being Quidditch captain and basically marrying one of the best Quidditch players in their years. They only supposed Harry would have known about it at the age of six, heck they'd known about Quidditch ever since they learned how to talk.

"It's a game where you can fly on broomsticks and you have to score points by throwing one of these balls," James pointed to one of the balls laying on the pitch, "through these hoops," he then pointed to the three small hoops on each side of the game.

Harry listened and frowned slightly, "they can fly?"

Albus chuckled at Harry's disbelieving tone, "sure they can. Here watch," reaching forward, Albus excitedly tapped one of the players and all at once all the little figures jumped up, hopped on their brooms and started flying around the pitch, tossing one of the balls around at each other. Three other small balls, one being almost impossible to see, started whizzing around the small pitch as well.

"It still works," said Albus happily as he watched the mini players tackle each other and steal and score points through the goal hoops.

James laughed and turned back to his toy train. He set it on the floor and within a few seconds it was chugging around the floor in front of the three boys, catching up speed and spewing colourful smoke out of its small front pipe. They watched as it did a small loop-de-loop and James laughed, happy that it was still working perfectly.

He turned to see Harry's reaction and his laughter died down in his throat. Harry still sat between them, his young green eyes were wide open, his complexion slightly pale, his little mouth open, gaping at the moving toys and shock was the clearest emotion he could see.

"Harry?" his father didn't give any reaction, he kept on staring at the toys, and James frowned worriedly.

"Harry?" he tried again and placed a hand on his father's little shoulder. Harry jumped at the contact and quickly turned to look at James.

James own eyes widened at the shocked and even scared expression on his dad's face. "Are… are you okay?"

Harry's grip on the dog tightened and he turned his head back to the moving toys, "h-how… how is…is it…?"

James tilted his head a little; his father's reaction was worrying him, this was not what he was expecting, "it's magic, Harry," he stated calmly.

Harry's green eyes widened even further, "magic?" the word came out as a small whisper and James strained to hear it over his siblings and Ginny's excited chatter and laughter. "But… but…" Harry licked his lips, confusion and fear clearly written on his young face and he looked back up at James, almost beseechingly, "but there's no such thing as magic."

This time James eyes widened in shock, did his dad really just say that? "Of course there's magic Harry," he felt himself say, he turned to look at Albus, who had heard Harry and had the same expression on his face. "We all have it."

Albus nodded, drawing Harry's attention to him as he said, "our toys are all magic," he pointed to the girls, who had opened up the toy house and were playing with the dolls. To Harry's surprise the dolls were moving on their own, walking up the small stairs, running in and out of the small rooms, one was even working in the plastic kitchen.

The girls noticed the boys staring and they turned to smile at them. Ginny grinned at Harry, "Do you want to play, Harry? You can be this one," and she held up a little toy doll of a boy who sat on her hand and waved at him.

Harry continued to stare in disbelief, "but… but how?"

"They have spells on them, it helps them move and it makes it a lot more fun," said Lily, she didn't notice the perplexed looks on her brothers' faces as they continued to watch their father and only took Harry's expression for curiosity to the game she and Ginny were playing.

"Well," said Albus slowly, slightly thoughtful, "you don't only need toys for fun; remember the time we made the gnomes float around the garden when they kept running over our picnic." He smiled fondly at his sister, who grinned at the memory.

"Or the time you completely shattered the windows when James took your drawing and hid it," laughed Lily brightly.

"Yeah, well he wouldn't tell me where he hid it, thought it was fun seeing me beg," Albus scowled at James, who gave a faint smile.

"I accident coloured my brothers' hair purple once when they wouldn't let me play with them," commented Ginny and she giggled, "Daddy thought it was funny."

Lily laughed, "I did that once too, except Albus and James turned blue from head to toe."

"I blame that Smurf movie Uncle George brought," said James and shook his head fondly, "you liked everything blue after that."

Lily and Albus laughed and he turned back to look at Harry and was happy to notice that their father no longer looked scared or confused. He had a look of complete wonder and awe on his face as he listened to them, a bright emotion shining in his eyes that James couldn't quite place.

"You really did all that?" he asked quietly, everyone nodded at him and his small smile started growing little by little.

Albus grinned, "Yeah, even our cousin did some crazy stuff when they were little."

"I bet even you did some accidental magic too, Harry," said Lily with a smile, they hadn't seen either of their parents do any magic since they were turned, but it's only been three days.

James saw Harry give a small nod and he looked at all of them with renewed curiosity and amazement. The smile was bigger than he ever saw it on his young father and he would have let his concern and worry rest, he would have smiled and laughed and showed Harry some more toys. But the next words that tumbled out of Harry's mouth, said with such happiness, froze him to the core and silence filled the room.

"I'm not the only freak."

* * *

**(A/N) This chapter was exhausting, it practically killed me, but it's done and up and I hope you liked it **_**(smiles)**_**. Hope it didn't seemed rushed, but there was a lot to fit in and well most of the time this chapter had a mind of its own -_-. Wouldn't agree in some scenes with what I wrote and I had to rewrite it **_**(laughs)**_**. **

**Well long chapter **_**(grins proudly then looks terrified and points desperately at you)**_** don't expect this to be a regular thing people. This chapter tortured me, TORTURED ME. You should be glad it took petty on me and let me live **_**(laughs).**_

**I apologise for taking so long to update, I know it's been… like three months, but honestly my health has not been with me **_**(pouts)**_** and I had a lot of problems with my work references… stupid people wouldn't reply back, took their sweet time. But finally I'll be starting my first job for the first time this month **_**(puffs up chest and grins)**_** pretty proud of me'self. **

**I know I shouldn't keep my hopes up for the same amount of reviews like the last chapter, it's definitely been a while and I'm not naïve enough to think I haven't lost any readers, but thank you all the same for your time and patience, especially your patience **_**(smiles).**_

**Next Chapter**** is going to be the Potter kids' reaction to well… Harry's 'freak' statement. **

**Just remember the kids are not going to get everything right, especially for the first few days. They will miss meals, make mistakes; forget to do certain things and all that. They are after all just teenagers; this is their trial and error time.**

**CAN YOU GUESS WHO THE AUROR IS GOING TO BE **_**(grins)**_**, gave a few hints. **

**IMPORTANT NOTE: ****To check out how I'm progressing with the next chapter,****please looks at my profile page, under where it says "Update News" and "Update Meanings"****. I'll let you know there how much I've gotten done and how much is left. I'm not going to leave Author Notes as chapters in any of my stories, so if you want to know what's going on with the next chapter or any of my stories, please check out my****Update section on my profile****.**

**A special thank you to those who checked out my drawing and commented on them **_**(grins)**_** I drew a picture of Jack Frost from the Rise of the Guardians and I'm pretty proud of it. it's my profile picture for Fanfiction **_**(gives thumps up)**_**.**

**Anyways, I'm rambling again, but PLEASE you know what to do **_**(smiles and points down to the review box)**_** please leave me a review. Let me know what you think, which part you liked, loved, hated. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I did my best. As always constructive criticism is encouraged and so is advice.**


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